


Cactus Quartet

by Close_to_the_Sun



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), My Chemical Romance
Genre: During Canon, F/F, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, Multi, No Smut, Nonbinary Party Poison (Danger Days), Other, Pre-Canon, Pre-Fabulous Killjoys Comic, Suicide Attempt, Teen Angst, The girl is mute, Zones Religion and Lore (Fabulous Killjoys), Zones Slang (Fabulous Killjoys), closetothesun learn to tag challenge, dont read this, genderfluid fun ghoul, i want to make that clear because i forgot to put it in at the start, idk why ive just always seen her that way, jet star has dissociative episodes, no beta we die like men, ok thats it i think, there is a suicide attempt in this fic and if you cant read that, touch averse fun ghoul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 36,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27335593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Close_to_the_Sun/pseuds/Close_to_the_Sun
Summary: the fabulous killjoys don't have much as far as luck, pity, or material wealth, but they've got each other, and sometimes that's all you need.
Relationships: Fun Ghoul/Party Poison (Danger Days)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 13





	1. 34909

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first ever fic, so i hope anyone who reads it, enjoys, and please let me know if i need to add any tags! i'm gonna be adding to this and i'll put new tags as they come!
> 
> special thanks to anyone on the SL server who reads this, i love you guys with my whole heart.
> 
> edit: had to change up the format, sorry for any confusion

Party Poison was shaken from their sleep by a loud thump on the door. Startled, they slid sideways off the couch and tumbled into the ground. As they scrambled to their feet, they yelled, “Who izzit?”  
There was no vocal response, but another thump came through the door, as if the person was throwing a heavy weight against it. Poison grabbed their blaster before hurrying to open it. Any Killjoy would know that the door to the Nest didn’t lock, you just had to twist the doorknob backwards. That left only two options: a ‘Joy who’d never been to the Nest before, or someone from Bat City. Poison grabbed their blaster before going to give them a greeting.  
The appearance of the person who’d been trying to break the door down was… unexpected, to say the least. It was a tall, disheveled man with lanky black hair and tired brown eyes. His clothing was some sort of uniform with a BL//ind logo that had been scribbled out with a marker. Judging by the amount of sand on them, he hadn’t changed in several days. He was the oldest person Poison had ever seen, next to Dr. Death-Defying; forty-five, or maybe even fifty years old. He clutched a white bundle desperately in his arms. “Please,” he gasped, “please let me in.”  
With an introduction like that, Poison could only step aside and let him enter.  
The man laid his bundle on the nearest table and began to unwrap it, speaking as he did. “I found it in the basement of my office. It’s the reason I left Battery City in the first place. I don’t know what it is, since it wouldn’t say anything to me, but this thing isn’t natural.”  
When they saw the creature, Poison had to agree. Its skin was paper white and stretched tight as a drum over its bones. The nose and mouth looked as if a cat’s muzzle had been flattened onto its face. A shock of white matted hair protruded from its scalp. Its body was humanoid, but something was distinctly wrong about it, something Poison couldn’t describe. They shuddered.  
“The fuck is this, some sorta nuclear test subject? Where do you work?” they demanded. “Who are you, even? You bein’ a stranger, wearing that uniform, and bringin’ this here-” they gestured at the monster- “ain’t exactly makin’ me wanna shake your hand.”  
The man cleared his throat. “Alright. You got any water?”  
Poison sighed and nodded. They begrudgingly brought him a cup of water and sat across from him. “Alright. Talk.”  
“Well, my name is Vance Shrike, and I’m an genetic engineer in Battery City. I work in a laboratory where I try to cure diseases, mainly. I found that in a supposedly abandoned storeroom. I panicked, and left immediately, and brought it with me. I’ve been running through the Blast Zones ever since, for almost two days now. I don’t know what I was thinking.”  
Poison bit their lip, trying to process the information that was just thrown at them. Vance was the opposite of a normal Killjoy- educated, privileged, and with no idea about life outside the city. Someone like that didn’t belong in the Zones, but he was here now, wasn’t he? They addressed the only thing they could properly advise on. “I can tell you this much: it’s nearly impossible to get back to Bat City once you’re out, everyone knows that.”  
“But-” Vance leaned across the table. “I can’t stay here. I have work, and my mother needs me to take care of her, and-”  
“I guess you might be able to go back, but it’d be hella difficult. Chances are, you and your buddy over there would be ‘re-educated’ into mindless dracs.”  
Vance stood, chair clattering to the floor. He probably would have said something defending the city, which would have pissed Poison off to no end, but they were spared by Kobra Kid coming inside at that moment. He made a beeline for where the creature had been left, leaning over and poking at it inquisitively. It moved slightly and he stumbled back. “What the fuck?”  
Poison cringed, then awkwardly tried to do damage control. “Hey Kobra! Listen, I wouldn’t worry about that-”  
If looks could kill, Poison would be in the grave. “What’s going on? Who’s that-” he stabbed a finger at Vance- “and where’d Monster over there come from?”  
“Hmm, it’s kind of a long story… maybe you should go find Dr. D,” Poison suggested, “and I can move Monster somewhere less… conspicious?”  
“Okay,” Kobra said. At the same time, Vance muttered, “I think you mean ‘conspicuous’.”  
“Right. That.” 

~o0o~ ~o0o~ ~o0o~

With Vance and Kobra seeking out Dr. D at the radio shack, Poison was left to take Monster upstairs. The Nest was equipped with a second story with bedrooms that were normally used by wayward Killjoys who needed a place to crash. In this case, Poison would have to pray that everyone would respect the Do Not Disturb sign that they’d made.  
At least it wasn’t hard to move Monster. For all its fearsome looks, it wouldn’t weigh 60 pounds soaking wet, and didn’t even reach five feet tall. It probably couldn’t defend itself well at all, and Poison had to wonder how something like Monster was treated in a city built on laws of rigid normalcy.  
“We’re gonna take good care of you,” they whispered before realizing that speaking to it was ridiculous, let alone trying to give it reassurance. Poison shook their head and went into the room they usually used, which was empty, thank the Witch. They laid Monster on the bed and quickly wrote a note, basically telling it where it was and what was going on. Chances were, it wouldn’t be necessary, but Poison didn't want Monster to wake up and be completely confused. They went back down quickly after that, not wanting to get any more attached.  
It wasn’t long after they re-entered the main diner area that Kobra and Vance returned with Dr. Death-Defying in tow. Kobra sat next to Poison in a booth in the corner. Vance was opposite them, and Dr. D was on the outside of the table. It seemed that they had already told him the whole story, because he was in the middle of a sentence when Poison tuned into the conversation.  
“...two options now,” Dr. D was saying. “You can go back to Bat City and hope you don’t get gunned down, or you could start runnin’ with us. What do you say?”  
Vance sighed. “The creature,”  
“Monster,” Poison supplied without thinking.  
“Sure. Monster. What are you going to do with it? I don’t want it put to death.”  
Kobra laughed a little. “We definitely won’t kill it, you don’t gotta worry about that.”  
Dr. D nodded. “What happens to Monster will depend on whether it wakes up. You said it’s been passed out for how long?”  
“Almost half a day.” Vance sighed. “It will be killed if I go back, and I don’t want that, so… I guess I’ll become a Killjoy? That’s what you call yourselves, right?”  
Poison exchanged a glance with Kobra and bit back a laugh. “Yeah, sure. You gotta pick a name for yourself, ‘fore anything else.”  
“A name… hmm…”  
The Killjoys began suggesting things at random, but nothing seemed quite right. Many Joys picked their names because of the thing that brought them out to the zones, but Vance had only left for Monster, and he hadn’t thought about it the way most escapees did. About half an hour later, without any satisfying ideas, they decided to call it quits. Poison tried to reassure Vance that it would come to him eventually, but he didn’t seem convinced. The three decided to crash, with Dr. D going back to his radio station for the nightly broadcast, promising to ask Cherri Cola for ideas if he saw him.  
Poison muttered names under their breath as they wandered through the upstairs hall. They didn’t give the slightest bit of attention to their surroundings, and ended up in Monster’s room. They walked slowly around, hoping the familiar setting would give them new ideas. Ever since they were 13, it was the closest thing to a physical home that they’d had. Nothing seemed to jump out at them, so without any other inspiration, they looked over to Monster. “I don’t suppose you’re going to give me any help?”  
Monster sat up, and to Poison’s shock, looked at them directly with its bright red eyes. In a reedy, tremulous voice, it echoed, “Help?”  
“Uhh…” Poison’s hand scrabbled blindly on the handle behind them, since they were afraid of breaking eye contact. “You can talk. That’s… good to know.”  
“Yes. I don’t bite, you know.” it drew its upper lip back to show rounded, human teeth. Poison supposed that was mildly reassuring, and it didn’t seem to want to kill them, so… “stay here.”  
They held Monster’s gaze for another beat of silence, then hurried to get Kobra and Vance, who were having an intense conversation about the city, of all things. Poison dragged them back to where it was hopefully still waiting. There was no telling of Monster’s intent, and the Killjoy would rather not find out the hard way. When they burst through the door to their- Monster’s? room, they found it inspecting a wanted poster for the Fab Four. Having a wanted poster was a badge of honor in the zones, so they were all over.  
“I’m back, and I brought friends,” said Poison.  
More like they brought backup, but Monster didn’t need to know that. It turned and waved politely, a gesture made considerably more disturbing by its backward elbow joints. “Hello.”  
“You got a name?” Vance asked before anyone else could speak. “We’ve been calling you Monster, but if you prefer something else…”  
“The closest thing I have to a name is #34909, but that is little more than a serial number. I would prefer if you continue to call me Monster. It seems… accurate.”  
“At least it’s got a sense of humor,” Kobra muttered. Louder, he added, “What are you, anyway?”  
Monster looked down curiously, as if seeing its own body for the first time. “Your guess is as good as mine. I believe most of my existence has happened while I was under the influence of narcotics.”  
Poison shook their head. Clearly, helping this thing would be more difficult than they’d begun to hope. “Should I get it some food? We have some Pup Power in the Trans AM, I think.”  
“That’s alright, I don’t need fuel now. I won’t need anything for awhile, as I had something a few days before Mr. Shrike took me from the laboratory.” Monster walked toward the door, but Kobra shut it quickly, explaining, “We should prob’ly put some sorta notice out before you get seen by everyone else.”  
“Very well. Party Poison, what were you asking my opinion on earlier? You asked for ideas.”  
Poison recalled the beginning of the conversation and replied, “Vance here wants to be a Joy, but he’ll need a new name, seein’ as he’s on the run now. It’s also a rite-of-passage sorta thing. I wasn’t really asking, so don’t feel like you gotta-”  
Monster tapped its chin thoughtfully. “You create things, you took me out… oh! What about Freedom Engineer?”  
Poison and Kobra both looked at Vance, who smiled. “I like it. I’ll go by Freedom Engineer, and Monster, I’ll make sure you’re safe out here, okay?”  
The creature nodded, doing something akin to a smile in return. “I would like that very much.”


	2. Mirror Image

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet Star's past has begun to catch up with him, and he's not sure how to feel about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this was meant to be a one-shot, but Jet said no, so it's a series now. i don't know how many chapters there'll be or how it's going to end, but i'm running with it! hope y'all enjoy!

Out of all the places to be, Jet Star thought Zone Six was the worst. Killjoys tended to stay closer to Bat City, so anyone dumb enough to spend time out there would have to survive on Pup Power and lukewarm pop. There were creatures out there, too, Jet could hear them prowling outside the Trans Am at night. How they’d gotten past the 20-foot electric fence at the edge of the Zone, he didn’t know, but he was pretty sure they weren’t normal. Also, he couldn’t see the city behind the sunset. He couldn’t tell anyone else that he liked to see it, but on the days when he couldn’t even recognize that his hand was connected to his body, it was the realest thing around him. Jet had been getting antsy out here, and he was desperately hoping to go back to Zone Three soon.   
When Cherri Cola pulled up on his patchwork motorcycle and asked them to go to the Diner, cause Dr. D wanted to see them, Jet knew his wish had come true.  
“I call driver!” Poison yelled.  
Jet exchanged glances with Kobra, who shrugged. “Dontcha think you’ll kill us all, with the way you drive?”  
“Maybe, but we’ve got it comin’,” Poison quipped. “An’ I’ll be careful.”  
“Your definition of careful is everyone else’s livin’ on the edge, you know,” Ghoul pointed out as they sat shotgun and fiddled with the glovebox. They pulled a pink wristband out and held it for the world to see before slipping it onto their- well, it would be her then- wrist.   
“Well, ain’t nothing for it.” the other two members of the group got into the back. Poison usually ended up driving, seeing as they were the only one who actually liked to drive. Jet grabbed the windowsill tightly as the Fab Four pealed out at a hundred miles an hour, dust spitting up in their wake.   
As it turned out, Dr. Death-Defying wasn’t even around. Show Pony was waiting for them at the diner along with Monster, who ran up and hugged Poison as soon as it saw them. Jet and Kobra both hugged Pony, and Ghoul gave them a nod. “What do we need to do?” she asked.  
“The Doc wants you to do a city run.” Pony kicked their feet up on a barstool. “There’s a shipment of medical shit comin’ in, and Newsie said that Dust said that she ain’t got no supplies left.”  
“Dust?” Kobra asked.  
“Oh, that’s Newsie’s new girlfriend. She’s read some ole’ medical books, and she ain’t too squeamish, so she’s kinda become our doctor.”   
Jet Star frowned at the ground as his friends began to plan the raid. They’d all left as kids, the way most ‘Joys did, since the brainwashing gets too strong after 14 or so. Jet was the exception to the rule- he had been taken by his cousin, of all people, just six months ago. He still missed Battery City most days, even though he’d seen what a horrible place it was. He knew it was a bad idea, but he couldn’t help but jump at the prospect of seeing the place he considered his home, just one more time.   
“When do we leave?” he asked.  
“Now,” Poison laughed. “Duh.”   
“Plan isn’t even a word in the Killjoy vocabulary!” agreed Kobra. “Geez, I don’t remember shit about Bat City, ‘cept that it’s real grey.”  
Jet wanted to argue that it’s not, not when the neon lights are reflecting off the metallic buildings and the whole world is aglow, but he held his tongue.  
The Fab Four piled into the Trans Am, bidding their friends goodbye and loading up their blasters with gasoline. It didn’t take long to get to the far edge of Zone One. Through the semi-opaque bubble that surrounded Battery City, Jet could see the artificial rain pouring down and felt a stab of jealousy. They had enough water to waste it on fake rain, and he knew more than one ‘Joy who’d died of dehydration. It was unfair, and yeah, life’s not fair, but you’d think he’d occasionally catch a break.  
“Okay, Jet, you’re the expert here,” Poison whispered.  
“What?” Jet said, jerking his head around to look at them. “How am I-”  
They frowned at him. “I ain’t been here in like a hundred years, an’ it’s been what, two weeks for you? Show us how to break in!”  
“Oh, right!” he hadn’t thought about it, but Jet probably did remember things best. He walked around the wall, careful to stay in a half-crouch, trying to find the opening he remembered. “It’s gotta be here somewhere… guys, c’mere!”  
“Di'ja find it?” Ghoul demanded, her eyes wide and… well, ghoulish under the electric blue lighting glowing dimly from within the bubble. The other Killjoys had gathered behind her.   
“Yeah, look here.” Jet pointed at a place in the ground where the dirt was slightly indented, making a shallow tunnel underneath the bubble. He vividly remembered his cousin dragging him through, the way the edge of the concrete inside had scraped against his stomach, how the sunrise looked when he saw it for the very first time. He shook his head to clear it and said, “it’s one hell of a tight squeeze, but we’re starved enough to fit, doncha think?”  
“No doubt,” laughed Poison. They laid on their back and began to wiggle through face first, grabbing the inside of the bubble once their arms were through. Jet had to be impressed with the strategy, although he was sure it was really dumb luck. They managed to kick through and stood up, grinning triumphantly. “Who’s next?”  
Once the Four were inside the city, Jet asked, “Where’s our shit bein’ taken? We gotta get it before it’s brought into the processing building, ‘cause there’ll be more dracs in there than there are… I dunno, but there’ll be a fuck ton of ‘em.”   
“‘Kay, Pony gave me a map.” Poison pulled it from their jacket pocket with a flourish, looked it over, then said, “We gotta go to the East Gate, which ain’t too far. We can cut across town, since these’re poor areas, so there ain’t too much policin’.”  
“Yeah. I lived ‘round here, so I know the drac schedules and all that,” Jet muttered as he surveyed the familiar area. “We should get goin’ now, since the shifts switch pretty soon.”  
Silent as the wind, the Four stole through the narrow alleyways. Each wave of rain on Jet’s skin brought with it another swathe of memory that he’d been desperately trying to forget. The dramatic shadows thrown by the lambent white light were the backdrop to his childhood, the clang of metallic pipes echoing his quickly beating heart. He kept his eyes on the ground, wishing his feet could forget every groove in the cobblestone, not looking where he was going… until he was home.  
Jet Star slowed to a stop in front of the place he had lived for the first seventeen years of his life. He stepped up towards the door, raised his hand to knock-   
“What the hell d’ya think you’re doin’?” Poison grabbed Jet’s arm. “We’ve got a job, in case you forgot, and part of the description is don’t get fuckin’ killed!”   
“I… you’re right. I know, I know, but… you think they’d let me in?” Jet gave it a long, wistful look. “I ain’t exactly a model son, but-”  
Poison dragged him into the safety of a shadow under the fire escape. “No, dumbass, they’d turn you over to the dracs before you could say ‘hello’. It ain’t nothin’ personal, they’re programmed to do it.”  
Jet gave it a silent goodbye, before nodding. “I remember.”  
“Jet-” Ghoul started, but he waved a hand in the air to silence her.   
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. We’re almost at the east gate now, right?” Jet walked back out into the rain as if to wash away the feelings welling up inside.  
That was his mistake.   
“Hey, you know it’s past curfew- what the-” the boy speaking tapped Jet’s shoulder, and he reflexively turned. The boy stepped back in shock. “You’re an outlaw.”  
“Shit!” yelled Poison as they vaulted out from the shadows. “Jet, the fuck did I tell ya?”  
Thinking quickly, Jet tried to slam his blaster into the side of the kid’s head, but he narrowly dodged. “Wait a sec! I’m not going to report you! I’ve wanted to meet you for awhile now!”  
Poison grabbed the kid by his rain jacket and slammed him into the wall, probably with more force than was necessary. Jet thought they might kill him, or at least leave him with brain damage. “Go finish the job,” they said in a low voice. “I’ll take care of this.”  
Ghoul and Kobra hesitated. Truly, one of them should have stayed to deal with Poison, but Jet felt a strange sense of responsibility. He nodded at his friends and whispered, “I’ll keep him safe.”   
As they stole away, he pushed Poison away from the boy. “He said he wants to talk to us. Let him talk.”  
Poison never talked about their life in the city, but judging from the way they treated strangers, it couldn’t have been good. Vigilance was one of the things that made them a good leader, but now it was the last thing that Jet wanted to deal with. They stared Jet down, but this was his turf and his fight, so he stared right back. Tension crackled in the air. After a few beats of silence, Poison dropped his gaze to the side. “You wanna talk? Talk.”   
The boy glanced around before saying, “Draculoids will come this way soon, I’ll give you the short version. Name’s Engel, my dad got taken to be re-educated last month. I haven't seen him since and I think my sister or I might be next. I’ve heard about you- the Fabulous Killjoys who rule the Zones and never take shit from anyone.” he smiled at the prospect, and something about the joyful puppy dog look on his face was so horribly familiar, it was like looking at you from six months ago.  
Engel took a deep breath. “Take me with you when you leave. Me and my sister both.”  
Poison was fiddling with their blaster as they listened to him talk. They tipped their head back and forth, weighing the idea, before saying, “Be ready in ten, kid.”  
“Really?” Engel’s face became a ray of sunshine. “Thank you so much! I- you won’t regret this, I promise-”  
“Chill, it ain’t like I’m hiring you.” Poison shrugged, but Jet knew the decision meant more to them than it seemed, especially since it had taken them a good two weeks to warm to him. “Go get your sister. Jet Star?”  
“Yeah?” Jet was glad he was wearing his helmet, since he wasn’t able to keep the look of relief off his face. Poison’s very existence seemed to be a game of russian roulette, but this time the gamble had paid off.   
“We should find Ghoul and the Kid. I dunno how much Pony expects us to get, but they’ll be pissed if we don’t bring a haul.” they snorted. “We’ll probably be pissed too, if we end up gettin’ shot.”  
Jet nodded. Poison made a dismissive gesture at Engel and the ‘Joys walked down the street, being careful not to speak now that the rain had let up. They found Ghoul and Kobra, thankfully unharmed and lugging boxes back to the alley. Poison filled them in on what had happened. They made it seem as if they’d had mercy on Engel completely of their own volition, and were some sort of saint. Jet didn’t bother to give his side of the story; Poison could have their pride. Jet just wanted to leave before he further convinced himself to stay in Battery City and reclaim whatever scraps of his old life he could.  
Engel wasn’t waiting for the Four when they went to collect him, but before they could get too concerned, he came out of the building next to the one they’d originally hidden under. He was holding in his arms a girl… a very young girl.   
“When you said you had a sister, I thought you meant someone older.”  
Engel smiled at Poison. “Nah. She’s ten. She won’t make any noise. Her name’s-”  
Ghoul stepped forward and held her hand up. “Don’t tell us. The less we know about the kid, the better. If one of us gets caught an’ we know about her, the Crows’ll use it as an excuse to kill us long an’ slow.”  
Engel looked slightly disturbed by that, eyes alighting on the other Killjoys’ faces for confirmation. When they nodded, he muttered, “Alright then.”  
It wasn’t difficult to get back to the border, even with the boxes and the new ‘Joys in tow. They ended up having to pass each individual roll of gauze and bandages through the tunnel, a stressful operation to be sure, but one that the Four managed to pull off. Engel’s look of awe at the vast expanse of the desert brought back Jet’s feeling of suffocating familiarity, and he hoped the boy’s introduction to the life of a Killjoy would be easier than his had been. At least Engel would have the support of the Four. Withdrawal was nothing to laugh at, especially not from BL//ind’s haze-inducing pills, but Jet thought the reward of true mental and physical freedom was well worth the pain.


	3. Teenage Satellites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghoul and Poison have a long-awaited conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the title for this chapter was inspired by the song Teenage Satellites by blink-182. I urge you to check it out, it's great!

“Hey Ghoul, are you a tower? ‘Cause Eiffel for you.” Poison barely held back their laugh as they delivered the line. 

“Oh my god, Poison, that’s so bad.” Fun Ghoul rolled his eyes. 

“You love it,” his friend drawled. “An’ my question still goes unanswered.” 

“I ain’t, and you’re gonna fall a lot harder when I knock you out.” 

Poison couldn't help but laugh now, practically falling off their barstool. “Well, you got me there, sugar.” 

“Alright, lovebirds, break it up,” said Cherri Cola as he turned the rusty faucet behind the counter, frowning in displeasure when nothing came out. It was concerning, but then again, practically everything in the diner was broken in one way or another. “Anyone ‘round here know shit about plumbing?”

Ghoul surveyed the Killjoys sitting around the diner. Engel, who’d immediately decided on the ‘Joy name ‘Sunny’, was talking to Engineer in the corner. His sister, who was just going by ‘the Girl’, was helping NewsAGoGo try to wrangle Monster’s hair into braids. It looked like a rather painful process, but Monster didn’t seem to mind. Jet and Kobra were on Poison’s other side at the bar, playing war with a crumbling deck of cards. Cola’s question was met with a chorus of shaking heads and muttered no’s. “Dammit, I’ll find someone later.”

“Dunno why you wanna drink water anyway, not when we’ve got pop,” said Kobra. 

Cola shrugged. “I dunno, maybe because it’s the substance that keeps us all alive. Din’t ya take seventh grade biology?”

“No,” Kobra grinned. “Left when I was ten, remember? An’ that’s more education than most ‘Joys got.”

Ghoul was stopped from jumping in to tease Kobra when Show Pony came through the door with a bang. They carried a stack of cardboard boxes in their arms. “Hey, look what I’ve got!”

As it turned out, Pony had brought some hair dye. The good shit, too, Ghoul thought. There were all the colors of the rainbow in the various boxes. Ghoul had come to slightly despise the sickly yellow in his hair, and grabbed a bottle of black dye. Poison had a half-and-half head, with dark pink and dusty grey, and they started sorting through the bottles immediately before coming up with an intense red. “Sick,” they muttered with a grin.

Kobra chose some bleach, as he always did, and Jet elected to pass. The new ‘Joys ended up with the brightest colors that would no doubt look ridiculous, but having ugly hair was a stage everyone went through at first. Pony and News were the resident hair stylists, and they started giving out instructions immediately. News dragged Ghoul into a chair and started pouring dye into a chipped bowl. For all his nonchalance about most things, Ghoul wanted his hair to look good, so he was careful not to move while she applied the substance to his head. 

Even his excitement for the new look couldn’t banish the uncomfortable sensation of having someone so close to him. Goosebumps appeared on his arms and he shut his eyes, trying to take deep breaths before he got too worked up. The feeling only grew worse when News began to touch his hair with her hands, even though it was only to pile it on his head. “Are you almost done?”

She looked at his face with concern and began to work faster. “Yeah, just one more sec… finished.” 

Ghoul nodded, aware that he’d gone white. “I’m gonna get outside, call me when ya need me.”

He didn’t bother to see if she’d nodded before practically sprinting out of the diner. His legs gave out from trembling and he slid down the brick wall and his whole body was shaking but how was he shaking when the air was blanketing him so thick he couldn’t breathe and he could feel it pressing on every inch of his skin so hot he must be burning and there were layers and layers of earth above him that were pressing down and oh god oh god oh god its going to collapse-

Ghoul was faintly aware of footsteps around him, maybe above him, and voices talking. Something brushed his hand and he drew himself tighter into a ball. Someone was speaking, saying something rhythmically that involved his name. Ghoul. His name was Ghoul. That drew him back a little, because no one called him Ghoul when he was underground. He managed to stammer out, “s- sa- s- safe?”

The words pitched in and out, but he caught the response of, “... yeah, you’re safe… not gonna hurt… try to breathe.” 

It took Ghoul another ten minutes to get himself completely under control. He eventually saw that Poison and Cola were with him. Poison was sitting with their legs crossed opposite him, and Cola was leaning against the wall a couple feet away. “Sorry.”

“You okay now?” Poison asked, waving off the apology. 

“Yeah. I’m tired.” Ghoul pushed himself to his feet, feeling completely drained. “I shoulda seen it comin’, honestly, shoulda warned Newsie.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Cola said. “Happens to everyone.”

It doesn’t, and Ghoul knew it, but he didn’t start an argument he wouldn’t want to finish. He washed his hair out into the sink, happy with the way the color looked. At least some good had come out of the situation. 

~o0o~ ~o0o~ ~o0o~

Ghoul slept for six hours. It was more than he normally got in a night, but he usually wasn’t actually tired at night, so he supposed it made sense. He probably could have gone for longer, but he was awoken by Poison pulling his blanket off him. “Fuck you,” he groaned. “It’s so fucking cold, ain’t this supposta be California?”

“Well, I didn’t know how else to get you up,” Poison defended. “Come with me, I wanna show you something.”

Ghoul tossed on a ratty old hoodie and wandered after them, rubbing the exhaustion out of his eyes. Poison climbed out of the window next to the stairs as if they’d done it a thousand times. Ghoul shook his head and followed, careful not to slip. There was a ladder hanging from the roof that Poison started to climb. “Where are you draggin’ me off to?”

“You’ll see. It’s cool, I promise.” Poison grinned. “I’ve been waitin’ for this forever.”

“Ain’t worth dyin’ over,” Ghoul grumbled despite his sense of intrigue. Poison usually kept their cards close to their chest, so anything that excited them was something Ghoul wanted to see. Upon clambering over the edge, he found a blanket and a pair of binoculars that were only slightly cracked. “What…”

“There’s a meteor shower tonight. Dr. D hacked the radio waves an’ heard about it. I made him promise not to tell ya so I could show you.” 

“Wow…” Ghoul smiled and sat down on the blanket. Poison sat next to him. Ghoul noticed that they were careful to keep a distance, and he wasn’t sure whether to feel grateful or guilty. 

“Look!” the first meteor shot through the sky, followed by a slew of others. Ghoul let out an awed gasp. Poison handed him the binoculars and he watched nature’s show, enraptured.

After a few minutes of silence, Poison spoke hesitantly. “You know… when I make those jokes, ‘bout like… fallin’ for you… I ain’t kidding.”

Ghoul dropped the binoculars. “Yes you are.”

Poison laughed bitterly. “I’m not, really.”

Ghoul shook his head. “You can’t- people don’t like me. I- that’s not-”

“Why wouldn’t people like you? You’re smart, and sensible, and a good friend, and you’re always lookin’ out for us! I love you, okay, Ghoul?” they looked down at the ground, their red face made redder by the color of their hair. “I mean, I don’t need you to feel the same way, an’ I assume you don’t, but you can’t go ‘round thinkin’ that people hate you.”

Ghoul almost laughed. “Poison. Poison, oh my god, the whole fucking desert is in love with you, an’ I ain’t an exception.”

Poison looked like someone had told them pigs could fly. They held a look of shock for a solid five seconds before breaking into a smile. “W- wait, really?”

“Yeah,” Ghoul shook his head. “‘Course, dumbass. I thought it was obvious.”

“Definitely not.” Poison lifted Ghoul’s hand, only touching where he was protected by his leather glove, and kissed it. Ghoul felt his whole face turn red. “That okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine… I’m sorry.” he wished he could show Poison that he loved them, but he thought it might kill him, even just to touch their shoulder. 

Poison shook their head and put their hands up to stop him. “Let’s make a deal. You don’t be sorry for not wantin’ me to touch you an’ I’ll do somethin’ you want me to do.”

Ghoul sighed. “Sounds good ‘cept I don’t know what I’d want you to do… can I think of something later?” 

“That’s fine, sweetheart, just stop feelin’ bad for what you can’t control, ‘kay?” In a rare moment of vulnerability, Poison said softly, “It’s kinda concerning. I don’t want you to hurt yourself ‘cause you want to be ‘normal’.”

“I won’t.” Ghoul saw that the sun was beginning to rise, the sight making the hair on his neck stand up. “We should probably go in, huh?”

“Probably…” Poison mused. Neither of them moved. Ghoul wanted to stay there forever, but life was calling. After the sun had lifted itself out from behind the horizon, the Killjoys went back inside, but Ghoul had the sense that unlike before, they were truly going together.


	4. Quests and New Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While on a mission to help the new 'Joys feel more at home, a rare rainstorm brings unexpected information to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm trying to upload every other day, but mental health went whoosh yesterday so here it is now. hope you enjoy!

Poison was completely exhausted after staying up all night talking to Ghoul. As a result, they were pretty out of it, barely paying attention to the conversation their friends were carrying on. They only really came to when Kobra tapped their arm and said, “Monster wants to ask you something.” 

“Oh, uh, yeah,” they muttered, squeezing their eyes shut and shaking their head to clear away some of the sleepy fog. “What’s that?”

“I was wondering, how do you make your masks?”

Poison laughed. “It ain’t quite that simple. A ‘Joy’s mask is tied to their soul, so you can’t just make ‘em. You gotta find ‘em, out somewhere in the Zones.”

Kobra added on, “the Phoenix Witch leaves them for us to find.”

The Girl, who was sitting next to Monster, tilted her head to one side with a look of confusion on her face. Sunny asked for her, “Phoenix Witch? What is that, some kinda demon?”

“Certainly not.” Dr. Death-Defying was finally back from the radio shack, having locked himself in there for days, doing nothing but broadcasting 24/7. 

“Well, what is it, then?” asked Monster impatiently. 

“She’s a wandering spirit who guides us on to the next life, of course,” said Jet sarcastically. “Because that’s a completely real thing that exists.”

“Shut up, Jet, it is real!” Kobra insisted. He was the most firm believer Poison had ever seen, even among the desert-born ‘Joys, and they couldn’t help but wonder if it was somewhat their fault.

“D’you think we have masks? Me and Girlie and Monster and Freedom?” Sunny leaned forward intently. “Can we go find them?”

The Fabulous Four exchanged glances. Poison was all for it; they’d been feeling unhelpful as of late, and a trip around the Zones was just what they needed. The others didn’t seem too bothered by it. “Well, why not?” Ghoul asked. “I’ll bet five carbons we find at least one.”

“I’ll bet ten that we won’t,” Jet retorted. Ghoul just laughed, apparently confident in xer odds. Poison smirked. “Gotta be honest, I’m with Ghoul on this one. I’d bet carbons, but I ain’t got none right now. I’ll just back you in spirit, sugar.”

Ghoul flushed, xer former imperviousness to Poison’s flirtations shattered. “I’ll take it.”

“Let’s go, then!” Monster cheered, its moonlike skin backed by a slight yellow glow. It got weirder and weirder every time Poison interacted with it. They thought it was the awesome, though, ‘cause who wouldn’t want a glow-in-the-dark humanoid child as a friend? No one sane, that’s for sure.

The Trans Am obviously couldn’t fit all of them, even when Freedom offered to stay behind, so they piled into an old van that was lying around. There were two seats up front, and an open area in the back filled with TVs hanging off the roof. None were operational, of course, but Poison still thought it was weird nevertheless. 

If there was one thing Killjoys couldn’t do, it was compromise. That was why they ended up having a drawn out rock-paper-scissors tournament for shotgun. Poison ended up going against Freedom in the finale, and only won because they pulled out the classic ‘blaster beats all’ trick. They managed to only realize after that if they were riding in the passenger seat, it meant they couldn't drive. 

Half an hour later and the group was well on their way to Zone 5. More remnants of times before the Helium Wars were there, like houses that still stood and neighborhoods that weren’t completely deteriorated. It was a place of danger, however, because dracs would hide out in the structures and shoot unsuspecting ‘Joys without ever being seen. That was why they journeyed that far out; maybe proving themselves would make the Witch want to give them what they wanted. 

“Aight. This should be easy.” Jet said, keeping his voice low. “We go in, find a couple dracs, you guys shoot ‘em up, we get the masks. Simple.” 

“Simple,” Poison echoed. They’d only ever passed through Zone 5, not actually explored it before. They hoped the Witch would be looking out for them, and that she’d turn everything in their favor. 

The Killjoys stalked along the crumbling streets, keeping a careful lookout for anything that moved. Poison wondered what it was like to live there, before the bombs were dropped. They could imagine it, a carefree childhood, not worrying about anything but math homework and who was going with who to prom, if the books and movies they’d seen held any truth. For a moment, they wanted to experience it. Then they remembered that Bat City had destroyed that chance, for them and for anyone else, and they decided that revenge was even better.

“Hey,” said an unfamiliar voice, “watch out-”

Poison pivoted to see a group of dracs lunge out from behind a building. They stepped back next to the newcomer, fumbling to rip their plaster out of its holder and start shooting. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Dust Deimos. She/her. You’re welcome for savin’ your ass.'' Dust was taking the dracs down with ease, as if she did it daily. She probably did if she lived out here.

“Party Poison. They/them. You coulda warned us before they attacked, but-” they shot one that was feet away from the Girl- “I’ll take it. Also, ain’t you NewsAGoGo’s girlfriend?”

“Yep.” 

The other Killjoys became aware of Dust’s presence when she yelled, “Drive them up the street! They don’t fight battle’s they ain’t winnin’, so make it so they ain’t winnin’! And for Witch’s sake, someone make sure the kids don’t get killed!” 

Inspired, the ‘Joys let out a war cry and charged, shooting wildly, blaster rays piercing the surrounding buildings more often than the dracs but giving off the effect of there being more attackers than actually existed. It didn’t take long after that for the drac gang to split, leaving the Killjoys to inspect their damages. Poison themself wasn’t injured, so they began to check over their friends. Monster had a scratch on its upper arm, Ghoul and Freedom both had some minor scratches, and Dust had a cut on her cheek that would leave a wicked scar. The only one who was badly hurt was Sunny. He had been shot in the side of his thigh and was leaning against the side of a building, pale and shaking. 

“You’re real lucky I ran into you,” Dust sighed when she saw him. She introduced herself to everyone, got their names in return, then offered, “I can take you guys back to my house. I’m now the-”

“Resident doctor, I remember,” Kobra said. “Pony told me.”

Of course, Dust didn’t take well to being interrupted, and she ended up bickering with him the whole time she led the group away. Her house turned out to be more of a shack, seeming to once have had two stories, but the top had collapsed, leaving only a room and a half unburied. Poison’s first thought was concern for Ghoul, knowing how uncomfortable xe was with closed spaces, but xe seemed to have a plan. The liveable part of the half-room had no roof, and xe was careful to stay over there.

Sunny, who’d been walking with his arm around Jet’s shoulder, sank to the ground where Dust pointed. His jeans and hands were covered in blood, and he looked like he might pass out, face tight with pain. Dust didn’t waste any time, cleaning out the wound with antiseptic and wrapping it in a secure bandage. “Normally,” she said as she worked, “I’d use water an’ some old shirt or something like that, but I’ve got real fancy supplies to work with. I’ve got the Fabulous Four to thank for that, don’t I?”

“Yep,” said Kobra quickly.

“Thanks, everyone except the twelve year old,” Dust quipped drily.

“I’m fourteen, an’ I’ll be fifteen soon, an’ I’ve lived in the Zones since I was ten, so I probably got more experience than you!” Kobra protested. 

Dust only smirked. “Actually, I’m desert born and raised. Don’t go shit talkin’ unless you can back yourself up.”

The Girl went from where she had been sitting at her brother’s side to the broken window, insistently pointing outside. Poison walked over to see what it was. They found nothing out of the ordinary, until they looked up. 

A stormcloud was gathering over the Zones.

“I think it’s going to rain,” they said in a tone of disbelief. “That’s insane. It ain’t rained around here for a good year an’ a bit.”

“Rain?” Monster joined the two at the window. “I remember rain… I wanna go out in it!”

Downtrodden, defeated, exhausted. That’s what Poison saw when they looked at their friends. The Killjoys needed something to get them back on their feet. A change of pace would be good, but was it worth the danger? 

Before Poison could decide, a faint rumble of thunder was heard and Monster lifted onto its tiptoes to see better. It looked so eager, like a kid going to a fair for the very first time. They couldn’t deny it this chance in good faith. “Alright, fine, it’s good for ya.”

“Poison-” Freedom started, his face lined with concern.

“I’ll keep it safe. Don’ worry.” 

Monster was off like a shot, bounding out the door into the quickly darkening street. The strange colors thrown by the cloudy sky, so similar and yet different to night time, made Poison wary. They took their blaster with them. Monster stood in the middle of the road, eyes transfixed above it. It felt like the whole world was covered in a heavy silence. Then the first raindrop fell directly onto its forehead. After that, the sky opened up and dropped buckets of rain, more than ever fell in Battery City’s manufactured storms. Monster lowered its head and looked directly at Poison, younger than it had ever seemed before. Through the crashing of thunder and rain, they clearly heard it say, “I remember.”

“Remember what?” Poison asked. Everyone except Sunny and Dust had stepped outside, listening to what it said.

“My name is Harper. I think. It’s all fuzzy still, but I’m a girl, a human girl, and I don't know how I got this way, but-” she looked terrified. “Poison, what did they do to me?” 

“I don’t know.” 

If she was right about what she was saying, Harper had been somehow mutated beyond all belief. No human would do this, right? Poison looked over at Freedom. He had a look of absolute confusion on his face. He didn’t seem to know anything about it. Poison still asked, “What the hell’s she talkin’ about, Free?”

“I don’t know, we were supposed to be treating diseases, not doing anything with animals or humans. This-” he waved his arm at Harper- “is not only not on the job description, she’s probably highly illegal. Whoever made her was taking big risks.” 

“I don’t care about the fucking risks, she’s hurt, I wanna get some fucking justice. How do we find out who did it? Harper shoulda had a normal life, not been made into-”

“Into a monster,” muttered Kobra. Poison looked at his friends, who's expressions were a mix of angry, scared, and disappointed. 

“I’m sorry,” said Freedom. “But there’s no way to know. We’ve been out here for what, a week and a half now? Anyone with half a brain cell would have long destroyed all the evidence as soon as Harper vanished.” 

“Fuck that,” Poison snapped. “I’ll figure it out, I don’t care how.” they stormed back into the house and told Sunny and Dust about the interaction. 

“The Witch would know,” said Dust. “she knows everything, even shit that goes down in Bat City.”

“You’re right…” Poison mused.

“Too bad there ain’t no way to talk to her.” Sunny sighed. Poison wasn’t so sure. A plan was beginning to form in their mind: an insane, half-baked plan, but one that they stored away anyway.


	5. Club Borealis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Girl shows some weird abilities that lead her friends to the suspicious Club Borealis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might take a break from posting, might not, idk, mental health has been a total bitch the last couple of days. Anyway, y'all aren't here to listen to me complain, enjoy this chapter!

The Kobra Kid had one goal and one goal alone: prove the existence of the Phoenix Witch. He would show Jet Star that she was real, and his friends’ desires to have masks was the perfect chance to do just that. He knew they couldn’t leave Dust’s house until the storm let up, so he attempted to make conversation with Freedom instead. Kobra knew he’d lived in Bat City, but he didn’t remember almost anything about it, much to his chagrin. Freedom gladly told him about his life there, about his job, the social groups, and the extravagant parties that the higher-ups at BLi would throw. 

“Oh yeah, I think I went to one of those- hey Poison!” Kobra called to his sibling. 

“What?” 

“You remember the parties, right? Mom and Dad would make us dress up all fancy, and they’d have lots of really good food, and-”

Poison glared at him. “I don’t wanna talk about the fuckin’ city. I left for a reason, Kobes, and it wasn’t to sit around bein’ nostalgic.”

Well, that put an end to that.

“Are we gonna keep lookin’ for our masks?” asked Sunny eagerly. 

Jet looked concerned. “You just got shot, is it really the best idea to go out again already?”

Dust, the authority on Sunny’s injury, didn’t seem too bothered by the prospect. “I’ll bring supplies in case he starts bleedin’ again.”

“Wait.” Kobra said quickly. “You ain’t comin’ with us.”

“We have a doctor and a patient,” Harper explained patiently. “It’s a bad idea to separate them, don’t you think, Kobra?” She was sitting with Poison, Ghoul, and the Girl in the caved-in room under the rain. 

“Fine.” Kobra wasn’t dumb enough to deny the fact that she was right, but why did it have to be Dust? She was lording over him like being older was something she’d achieved. He decided to stay far away from her, and hopefully they wouldn’t have to talk. “We don’t even know where to go next.”

As if on command, the Girl walked over to the ancient radio in the corner of the dry room. She circled it, inspecting, before reaching out and touching it. The thing buzzed to life, a static sound filling the air, before the station suddenly changed. An advertisement for masking tape came on, the voiceover too loud and too cheery to be from anywhere other than the city. 

“That radio,” muttered Dust with a look of confusion on her face, “has not worked for the sixteen years that I’ve been alive.”

At the same time, Ghoul said, “It’s advertising masking tape. Like, mask. D’ya think it could be, I dunno, a sign or something?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Jet quickly scoffed, but he was interrupted by the radio channel changing again. The Girl wasn’t flipping the buttons, either, just leaving one hand on the top of the box. 

“Thirty-four.” a different voice said, white noise behind it as if the signal came from far away. It flipped again, emitting a “zero” before changing to “five”, then “twenty-two”. There was a pause, and in that time, Freedom started quickly writing down the numbers. Seven more came through, and then it fell silent. 

“What the fuck?” Dust shook her head. “There’s weird Zones shit, and then there’s this. Who is this kid?”

“She’s my sister,” Sunny said fiercely. “She’s never done anything like that before, I don’t know where it came from. She’s just a normal kid.”

“I ain’t an expert on normal, but even I know that ain’t it.” Dust sighed and tossed herself into a chair. “What even were those numbers? I didn’t hear a pattern or anything…” 

Freedom looked over the slip of paper he’d scribbled them down on, then started scribbling again. Kobra looked over his shoulder. He was rearranging the numbers, putting them in smallest-to-biggest order, then splitting them into pairs, and then writing them with dots in between at seemingly random intervals. When they were all written, he held the paper up triumphantly. “What is it?” Kobra asked.

“Coordinates. Anyone have a BCPS?” he asked. 

Dust started rummaging through boxes kept in cabinets with the doors all blown off. She eventually took out an out-of-date model of the device they were looking for. “This’ll probably work.”

The ‘Joys had to wait for almost an hour, first for the rain to stop and then for the BCPS to charge in the sun. When it finally turned on, they gathered around as Dust did the honors. The map turned on and pointed them at where they were to go. “I know how to get there,” she said, looking unusually anxious.

“What’s the problem?” asked Ghoul. 

“Well, nothin’, ‘cept… it’s Neon Angel territory. It’ll probably be fine.” Kobra thought her smile looked forced, but he ignored it. 

“Let’s get goin’, then. Zone 4 ain’t gettin’ any younger!” Poison commanded. 

It was impossible for Kobra to breathe in the tiny van, since it had already been filled to the brim before Dust joined them. He ended up curled in the corner under a desk- who puts a desk in a van?- with his head getting hit every two seconds. It was about twenty-five minutes away, which would have been bearable if not for the amount of people around him. What’s worse, Harper had struck up a conversation with Poison, her high voice quickly becoming unbearable. 

“Can you guys quiet down?” Kobra cut in.

“Oh, sure, whatever pleases your royal highness,” said Poison sarcastically. “You need to chill out.”

Kobra shook his head, unwilling to fight with his sibling but also wanting to defend himself. The air was now tense, but at least it was quiet. “That thing play any music?” he muttered to the Girl, who was clutching her radio like a lifeline.

She shut her eyes in concentration and then it buzzed to life, playing something from WKIL 109. “Wow,” muttered Sunny. 

They finally arrived at the coordinate position. It was pretty obvious to Kobra that there weren’t any masks, but they fanned out and began to search anyway. The sun beat down and made mirages appear on the densely packed sand, making it unclear whether an area was empty.. Kobra looked thoroughly under a cactus before standing up and loudly announcing, “I don’t see anything.”

“Well, what’s that building over there?” asked Harper, pointing at a structure about half a mile away. Kobra wasn’t the only one who looked to Dust to answer the question. She hesitated, then said, “that’s… Club Borealis. It’s a bar, and it’s where the Neon Angels like to hang out.” 

“Let’s go see what we can find there,” suggested Freedom. “It’s not dangerous, right?”

“No, but… ah, well. It’ll be fine.” Dust decided. It was easier for them to walk than to drive the short distance, and they could check for the elusive masks, anyway. The building was a one-story, standing unusually well with most of the shingles still intact on the roof. Compared to the Diner, which always looked on the verge of collapse, or even Tommy Chow Mein’s store, it was glittering new. The others seemed to pick up on it, too, giving it looks of impressedness. As they neared the main door, Dust warned them to be quiet. “I really don’t wanna get anyone to see me, ‘specially not-”

“Heya, Deimos. You haven’t been ‘round here too much lately.” the speaker stepped out and leaned on the doorframe. He was tall and lanky and definitely older than a teenager. He had a fiery orange and red mohawk, and most strikingly, a smattering of scars along his right cheek that could only be from bomb shrapnel. “You ain’t gonna run off and join the Fabulous Four, huh?” he said it in a mocking tone, gesturing at the group behind her.

Dust groaned. “Speak of the devil. OJ, how ‘bout you let me live my own goddamn life without breathin’ down my neck all the time?” 

“Nah.” he gave the others a look that was somewhere between annoyance and disgust. “Y’all better beat it. Just ‘cause you’ve got a hell of a reward out for you don't mean I gotta worship your names.”

Poison, never one to back down from an insult, snapped, “We’ll go where we damn please.”

“Christ on the cross,” OJ muttered. “Ain’t you got ears? Leave, now, an’ don’t come botherin’ anyone who runs with me again or I’ll have your necks.”

“We need to go inside Club Borealis. I’m looking for my mask, from the Witch, you know?” Sunny said quickly. “You don’t have to like us, although I dunno why you don’t, just-”

“Just let you onto my turf.” he frowned. “You’re new out here, ain'tcha? I can hear it in the way you talk. You’ve gotten caught in the wrong groups, city boy. You can come in, if you decide to start running with the Angels.”

“I’ll think about it,” Sunny said with a neutral look on his face. OJ shrugged and stepped to the side. Kobra got a glimpse inside the bar. It was a dark room with older-looking ‘Joys standing around, holding cups or bottles of what was probably alcohol. Kobra leaned forward to see more clearly, but OJ shut the door with a snap.   
“It’s bad enough that you run around with Show Pony and their sister, that girl Newsie, but at least they ain’t in a gang. This is breakin’ our code. You know the code, doncha, Deimos?” OJ said, ignoring the others. 

“We shouldn’t have a fucking code. We’re a group of Killjoys, you dumbass, our existence rests upon the foundation of law-breaking.” 

OJ laughed, putting his hands on his hips and leaning forward. “Where’d you read that, huh, sweetheart?” 

“At least I know how to read,” retorted Dust. “ain’t anyone ever told you ‘you catch more flies with honey than vinegar’?” 

With a bang, the Girl ended the argument by hitting her radio on the top. Like clockwork, it began playing a broadcast from WKIL. 

“...ulous Four moonwalk over to our radio Houston with their newest young charge, you know, Anonymous Kiddo. Come soon, too, or the war will be won without you. With all that said, here is the weather.”

She shut it off again with a pointed look at OJ, then at each of the Four. “Thanks,” said Dust, “for shutting this piece of shit’s trap for once.”

“Is that just… how she talks?” OJ asked, giving the Girl a look of intrigue. 

“Far as we can see,” Poison said curtly. “Don’t be gettin’ any ideas now. Your status as a Killjoy don’t mean I won’t kill ya.”

OJ put his hands up. “Alright, geez. I ain’t.” 

Poison rolled their eyes. “Sure. Anyway,” they turned to Kobra and the rest of their friends, “we should decide what to do next. The Doc wants me an’ the rest of the Four an’ Girlie all at the radio shack, an’ I doubt Sunny’ll give up on this mask thing if he’s willing to go in there.”

“Hey, listen to this!” as if summoned, the aforementioned boy resurfaced, excitedly waving a hand in the air. “I talked to this nice lady, and she said she found a mask in the desert a few days ago, right about when I left the city! And get this- it had a sorta sunrise design, with a yellow spot in the middle, she said. It sounds like it’s really mine!”

“Yeah, must be. Congrats, kid.” Jet Star reached out and ruffled Sunny’s hair. Kobra wasn’t sure why he was giving Sunny such a regretful sort of look. Maybe it was that he’d lost the bet with Ghoul.

The rest of the group congratulated him and caught him up to speed. “Well,” he said when he heard about Dr. D’s request. “Guess I might have to let Girlie go.”


	6. Coyote Chow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freedom and his friends go to Tommy Chow Mein's to search for Sunny's mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, sorry i haven't posted in awhile! i have regained inspiration for this fic!

Freedom watched as his friends sped away in their old news van, letting them vanish over the horizon before he turned back to Dust. “So where is this ‘Tommy Chow Mein’s’ place?” 

“It’s in Zone 6,” she responded. “It’s kinda like a general store… geez, I’m gonna have one hell of a time bein’ a tour guide for you newbies. Hope you catch on quick ‘cuz this act is gettin’ old.”

“Okay, cool! Let’s go!” Sunny suggested excitedly. He kind of reminded Free of the puppy he’d had in Battery City. He looked the part, too, with big brown eyes and curly hair. Free knew he couldn’t be the only one that saw it.

“Alright, alright.” Dust laughed. 

“How are we going to get to Zone 6 if Poison and their friends took the van, though?” asked Harper. 

“Oh yeah,” muttered Sunny. “Shoulda thought of that first, shouldn’t we’ve.” 

“Perks of bein’ an Angel, I can take one of their cars,” Dust said proudly. “Let’s grab the one that’s OJ’s favorite, he won’t like that.”

The four went to the back of the club where there were some vehicles lying in wait, Dust and Free bickering good-naturedly about OJ’s car. Free thought it would be reckless to piss him off even further, since he seemed to have a certain amount of control over Dust, but she brushed the concern off. He had to concede, however, when he saw that it was the only vehicle with four present seats. Dust laughed when he mentioned it. “Oh, ‘course!” she said. “You can get one hell of a price for loose parts. I’d bet most of ‘em were taken by Angels, to sell to other Angels. OJ ain’t observant enough to see ‘em do it.”

They quickly got into the car and spun out of the lot. Free had been a driving educator back in Battery City, but that hadn’t prepared him in the slightest for the reckless abandon of Killjoy driving. They acted like the speed limit was a minimum and roads were only used if they were unavoidable. Everything about their lives was more dangerous… and more exciting.

Zone 6, Free noticed, looked much more alive than the others. There were more cacti, sure, but it was even more than that. The wind seemed to blow more and the sand kicked up the way sand should, rather than practically floating in heavy clumps the way it did in Zones closer to the city. He also saw animals, real animals, like lizards and little birds. Pets were made by genetic specialists, in the same field that he’d worked in, especially for their owners. Freedom was beginning to realize that nothing about the city was natural, and the more he saw it, the more he understood all the ‘Joys who had left.

“Here we are,” said Dust as they pulled up to the store. “Let’s go get Sunny’s soul, huh?”

“Yeah, lets!” Harper agreed, and the group followed Dust inside.

Tommy Chow Mein’s store was crowded with seemingly unorganized and random items stuffed onto shelves and stacked into piles on the floor. The group barely had room to stand inside together. Dust was unperturbed, and stepped up to the counter with an air of knowledge. “Hey, Tommy,” she said to the man behind the desk, “bring out the mask Hollow Stitch gave ya last week.”

“Why’dya want it?” he asked in a monotonous voice. “It ain’t yours, obviously.”

“It’s his.” she jerked a thumb at Sunny. “He went an’ asked around at Club Borealis for it, all on his lonesome. That prove enough to you? Kid ain’t even been in the desert for a month.”

Tommy’s hand hovered under the counter. “He talk to OJ?”

“Yeah, I did,” said Sunny fiercely. “And if you don’t believe me, ask him yourself.”

Tommy laughed, grabbed it, and slapped it onto the counter. “Oh, I believe ya alright. Hollow Stitch made me give six carbons for this thing, but I’ll just give it to ya. ‘Cause I’m nice.” 

“Thanks!” Sunny eagerly pulled it over his face. The mask had a yellow circle in the center with orange rays coming out on a pink base, like a sunrise, almost like it was made for Sunny. If you believed the stories about the Phoenix Witch, which Free was beginning to, it was.

“Alright, if that’s all…” Tommy looked back to the book he’d been reading. Freedom made a mental note to ask Dust about it, because he didn’t realize there were books in the Zones. 

“Not quite.” Dust began to haggle with him over buying and selling medical supplies, and the others quickly lost interest and began to wander around the store- well, they couldn’t really wander, because of all the things on the floor, but they surveyed the items that they could see. Harper started looking at some {stuff}, and Sunny soon took an old Polaroid camera off a nearby shelf. Freedom found a pile of untouched masks gathering dust in the corner of the room, and looked through them with vague interest. Part of him hoped that his would be there, but none jumped out to him the way Sunny’s had. 

“Let’s get outta here,” Dust said, having finally completed her transactions. “If we drive fast we can get back to the Club before it’s completely dark, though I ain’t sure I wanna go back there.”

The group bade Tommy goodbye and went outside. Twilight had begun to set in, so it was right at that time when there was a whole band of rainbow in the sky and everything was turned golden by the angle of the sun. The group couldn’t help but stand in silence, looking at the world doused in honey. 

Their reverie was only interrupted by a high-pitched whimper coming from around the corner of the store. Harper immediately moved to see what it was, and Freedom followed her, as did the other two. They found a snare tied around a group of cacti, and caught inside was a whining coyote. It was too small to be an adult but too big to be newly born. It bit at the rope but kept falling over before it could get a real grip. “We have to get it out!” Harper cried.

“Nah. I know about the guys who rig this stuff up. They only do it to eat, an’ they ain’t picky either,” Dust said. “It’s the coyote’s fault for gettin’ caught. They’ll kill it quickly.” she turned away as if that would just be the end of it.

“No, no, look closer at it!” insisted the child. It took him a second, but Freedom saw what she was pointing at: the coyote’s mouth was twisted and deformed, making it impossible for it to have a strong bite. “The poor thing can’t do anything. We should at least give it a fair chance!” 

Dust opened her mouth angrily, probably going to argue her point, so Freedom walked forward and began untangling the net before she had a chance to. He untied the two ropes holding the net up and it tumbled to the ground. He expected the coyote to scamper off, but it didn’t. Instead, it started sniffing the ground around Freedom, looking at him expectantly. 

“It looks like its jaw was hit by a tree branch or something, but there aren’t any trees out here, obviously,” Sunny observed. 

“It’s the radiation.” Dust looked sullen, but she still knelt down and held a hand out. “C’mere, boy. Or girl. Or friend-of-the-in-between-variety.”

The coyote ignored her beckoning and continued to sniff the ground. 

“I think it wants food,” said Harper hesitantly. “Do we have anything to feed it?”

Dust protested, “We’re not feeding the food-”

“Hey, its tail, too!” Sunny was right. The tail had two kinks in it, bending in the same fashion as a broken nose. “Hey, Dust, is that also from radiation?”

“Yeah. Go on, shoo! We ain’t got enough to go around for us, let alone givin’ some genetic failure free handouts.” she waved her hands at the animal, trying to send it off but only succeeding in looking ridiculous. Freedom decided to throw it a bone, literally and figuratively, so he told Dust to go buy the poor thing some Pup Power. She was displeased to say the least, but she did it anyway. 

Free was rather relieved when Dust returned- he half expected her to take the car and run. He poured the food onto the ground and the coyote began to eat eagerly. 

They watched it gobble down the food. When it finished, it barked once and then bounded off into the distance. “You’re welcome!” Dust yelled at it.

“It was like me,” Harper said emotionlessly. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I’m… not normal. Obviously. It looks weird… the same sort of way I do.” she stared at the ground, shoulders slumped. “Am I the way I am because… I’m like… a freak of nature?”

“No, no, of course not,” Freedom reassured her quickly. “You were created the way you are on purpose, by a man. Someone who wanted to play god. You’re the opposite of the coyote. And look! You’re both doing the best you can, right?”

Harper looked mournfully at him. “Okay, I guess, but… why?”

Free sighed. “I don’t know, same as Poison said. We’re trying to find out.”

“Okay,” she repeated, turning to the horizon. “Hey, by the way… what’s that?”

“What’s what?” asked Sunny.

Harper pointed at an object lying on the ground in the shadow of Tommy Chow Mein’s. When the others exchanged glances and didn’t move, she retrieved it and came back. “Hey, Freedom, look at this.”

Freedom took the object from her hands reverently. It was a grey helmet, covered in bright pink and green and blue geometric shapes. He’d never seen anything like it before, but the item was incredibly familiar, as if it was a long-lost sibling, or like he saw himself in a mirror for the first time. “It’s mine,” he murmured.

“I think so,” said Harper, smiling. “Congratulations.”

“Yeah, looks like we killed two dracs with one bullet.” Dust commented, looking much happier than a few minutes ago. “I guess you all are real ‘Joys now.”  
“Yeah,” said Sunny, giving Freedom a high-five. “We are.”


	7. Radio Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out of other ideas, the Fab Four attempt to summon the Phoenix Witch with a ritual suggested by Ghoul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have some skeptical Jet Star! Enjoy!

Jet Star had heard that in the days of the Analog Wars, the radio shack was an imposing structure, protecting the soldiers who took refuge there with its very existence. Seeing it now, he was surprised it hadn’t fallen down yet. 

“Why’s Dr. D live in that shithole anyway? He’s Zone royalty, could stay anywhere he wants, and he chooses this?” Jet kicked a crushed can of pop out of the way as the Four walked inside.

“Who knows, the man does what he wants and we ain’t exactly ones to judge, huh?” Poison shrugged as they responded.

It was a crowded little building, as were most Killjoy haunts, but something about the shack was a little more ‘welcome home’ than other places. It was in fact Dr. Death’s home, so Jet supposed that had something to do with it. 

The Fab Four met Dr. D, along with Show Pony, in the broadcasting room. They both looked unusually somber. After giving the Girl a can of pop, Pony said, “Well, there ain’t no use in sugarcoatin’ anything. We were listenin’ into the Bat City waves and found out that your girl-” he gestured at her- “is bein’ pursued by a Scarecrow.”

“We expected that,” Jet sighed. “She ain’t gonna get taken, don’t worry.”

“That’s not the part we’re worried about,” Dr. Death told them. “The Crow who’s out for her is Korse.”

The Four exchanged nervous glances, Poison’s hand tightening slightly on the Girl’s shoulder. Jet knew about Korse; everyone knew about Korse. He was the most fearsome Scarecrow in the unit. He’d brought more Killjoys into re-education camps than anyone else, which was much more fearsome now that Jet was one of them. He had a vague feeling of nausea as he recalled how he had worshipped Korse as a child. 

“Well, that’s just great,” said Kobra sarcastically. 

The Four decided to stay in the radio shack for the night, seeing as the sun would long have set by the time they got anywhere else. They could have stayed in the desert, of course, but it was safer to stay inside, and Dr. D insisted he didn’t mind. After a bit of shuffling around, the Joys managed to find enough soft surfaces for everyone to have a pillow, and they didn’t need much else. Compared to some nights they’d had, it was a stay at a five-star hotel. 

The next morning, they were woken up early by Ghoul who was pacing around the room frantically. “What’s wrong?” asked Poison in concern.

“Nothin, I remembered- well, I dreamed, anyway- a way to contact the Witch.” 

“What?” Kobra, who had always been the heaviest sleeper of the group, was just rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “The fuck is goin’ on?”

“Xe-” Ghoul still wore the white bracelet, so Jet assumed xer pronouns hadn’t changed- “kinda-sorta remembered a way to talk to the Phoenix Witch.”

“Really?” the Kid stood excitedly. “How? Can we do it? What do you-”

“I don’ recall most of it, but I know where I read it.”

“Oh.” Kobra’s face fell slightly. “We ain’t got enough carbons for a book, Ghoul.”

“We don’t need carbons for a book, don’t worry. It’s one of Cola’s. He’ll let me borrow it.”

Jet tried his best not to laugh at his friends. He knew he was the odd one out for not believing in the Witch, but come on. A spirit who collects the masks that you’d find just laying around that are connected to your soul, who brings you to the next life? It was pretty ridiculous, at least in his opinion. He had found a mask, and it had seemed made for him, and he’d only found it after noticing a gas leak and probably saving some ‘Joys from brain damage. That all was true. But he was more caught up on the ‘next life’ thing than anything else. 

It wasn’t his fault that he had such a hard time believing. Religion was outlawed in Battery City, since it was considered to be deviancy of thought. The incredibility of it all had been drummed into Jet’s head since he was little, and even after months away from that place, there were some things he just couldn’t shake. He wished he believed in her, since it would make him less of an outsider, but until it was proved to him beyond a shadow of a doubt, he’d probably stay skeptical.

“Earth to Jet Star, you listenin’?”

Jet blinked hard and shook his head to refocus. “What?”

“I asked, are you-”

Finally processing what Poison had said, Jet responded, “Mostly, yeah. What’s up?”

Poison sighed, laughing a little. “We’d have taken the city by now if you could focus for more’n two seconds, I swear. We’re gonna go to the Nest to find Cola an’ his grimoire. You gonna come?”

Jet snorted. “Yeah, ‘course, that ain’t even a question.”

It wasn’t hard to find Cherri Cola. He was sitting outside the Nest and choking down a can of Pup Power when the Four arrived, the Girl still in tow. He waved at them and walked over. “Hey, where’d the newbies go? D’ya abandon them in the desert?”

Ghoul gave him the run-down of their past few days before coming to the subject at hand. “So, you still got it hangin’ around somewhere?”

“Do you really think I’d lose something that important? Come on, it’s in the library.”

The Zones idea of a library was laughable compared to the ones that Jet used to go to in the city. A shelf held together by badly hammered nails and prayers, containing not even thirty books. Judging by the awed expressions on Poison, Ghoul, and Kobra’s faces, this was pretty impressive, too. Jet put another tally on the “Bat City and all its inhabitants are pieces of shit” list. 

The book they needed was called “Magical Summonings and Rituals”. Ghoul flipped quickly through it before finding the page xe was thinking of. It showed a procedure for speaking to spirits and ghosts that looked like something out of a movie or TV show. “Chanting, pentagrams, we really got the whole nine yards here, huh?” said Cola amusedly.

“Yeah, yeah, it don’t look like much, but just you wait an’ see,” Kobra argued. “It’ll work, I’m sure it will.”

Oh yes, thought Jet, a fourteen-year-old’s faith in something will definitely make it come true. 

Poison decided the best thing to do would be to leave the Girl with Cola, since they were a lot less sure about the ritual, but for a different reason than Jet. They thought it might work, but call the wrong entity, possibly one that was less than friendly. “If we summon a demon, I don’t want it gettin’ her. The rest of us, let's be honest here, probably deserve it.”

Out in the desert, a few miles from any habitable settlement, Kobra began to help Ghoul draw symbols on the sand. The book had called for them to be made in blood, but that seemed like too much to the Four, so pink spray paint would have to do. Poison had borrowed a blaster that had belonged to a now-dead ‘Joy, since they needed an item from a lost loved one. Supposedly the Witch loved everyone, so it would work no matter who’s it had been. Jet thought it was too convenient, but then again he was glad he wouldn’t have to do any extra leg work.

“Alright, let’s get this party started,” said Ghoul once xe was finished painting. Poison lay the blaster in the middle of the sigil. The four Killjoys stood around the drawing on the north, east, south, and west points, or their estimations of where the points were based on the sun, at least. They each had to say a different line of the incantation, and then the last one all together. Jet felt embarrassed, but he was somewhat comforted by the skeptical looks from all but Kobra.  
“Ghostly force come unto me,” Ghoul said.

“Where or whenever thou shalt be,” continued Kobra.

Jet sighed. “And what I command thee to do.”

“Thou shalt listen, my words ring true.” Poison finished. 

Together, they chanted, “I am the master of this spirit.”

Jet didn’t believe in the ritual, but at the same time, he half-expected the ground to break open, or a woman in white to appear, or something similar. Nothing exciting happened, however. They stood awkwardly for a minute or two, then Kobra said, “well, why ain’t it workin’? Where is she?”

“Maybe we shoulda used blood,” Poison mused.

“It didn't work because you can’t summon a fuckin’ ghost, ‘cause they ain’t real,” Jet said. “Let’s just go. This is stupid.”

“Wait, no!” Ghoul put xer hands up. “Let’s… let’s try sayin’ the whole thing together, instead of separately until the end.”

“Do we have to?” 

“Yes, Jet. Humor us. It ain’t takin’ years offa your life or anything,” Kobra said. He looked so dejected that Jet did as he asked. 

They ended up saying it together, then in a different order, then doing it again once the moon had risen. Nothing worked. Ghoul kicked the dust where the circle closed, breaking it, and Jet’s last glimmer of hope died out when the environment didn’t change. His patience died out, too. “Okay, we’ve done everything short of bleedin’ Poison dry. Will you accept the fact that it was bull now, so we can go the fuck back?”

“But-” Kobra started to protest.

“No, he’s right, Kobes,” Poison said. “There’s probably some sorta special thing to do for seein’ the Witch that ain’t written down.”

“Yeah, dyin’.” Jet said shortly. “But I doubt any of us are willin’ to try that.”

“S’pose so,” Ghoul muttered. “Right. Let’s get back to the Nest. The Girl’s waitin’ for us, an’ Cherri’ll kill me if he don’t get his book back.”

They drove back slowly after destroying the evidence of the ritual. Jet Star felt the disappointment as much as the others, even though he’d known it was futile all along. He felt like he should be the one looking for the solution, for some reason, as though it was his fault for not ‘believing’ hard enough. It wasn’t as if the thing was that believable in the first place. Even Zones religion wasn’t usually that tacky. Maybe, he supposed, the Witch had seen it, and she’d thought it suited her better to watch from afar. From what he’d heard, it would be in character.

There was only one good thing to come of it. Poison announced on the way back to the Nest that they and Ghoul were dating. Jet resisted the urge to say finally, but really, it was a long time coming. Maybe now they’d stop the truly terrible flirting, but Jet thought he wasn’t nearly that lucky.


	8. Bargaining Chip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freedom vies with OJ to get Dust out of the Neon Angels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this OC-ridden chapter!

Dust wanted to leave. She wanted to get out of the Neon Angels more than anything else in the world. Unfortunately, she owed OJ one too many favors for it to be that easy.

The day had started well, with Free and Sunny finding their masks, and it’d put her in a good mood. Talking to OJ again would put a bad taste in her mouth, she knew, but Tommy Chow Mein was a notorious rat and she’d rather get it all over with. Pulling up to the Club again, she saw him standing outside, as if he was expecting her. “Bastard,” she muttered.

“He’s not that bad, is he?” Sunny asked. 

“He is. He’s just… I dunno how to describe it. He’s gotten real overprotective ever since his kid was born twelve or so years ago, an’ he don’t let anyone leave the Angels. It’s pretty fucking annoying.”

Dust dragged her feet as she approached him. At first she’d been too far away to gauge his reaction, but now she could see the anger in his eyes. “Deimos,” he said when she was close enough to hear, “you are the world’s biggest pain in the ass.”

“Why, thank you,” Dust sighed. “I told you to call me Dust, anyway, an’ I don’t see why you’re so hot and bothered. It ain’t like I broke your precious little car or anything.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t, or I’d really have you skinned. As it is, I don’t wanna see you hanging ‘round with those pieces of shit anymore.” he pointed at Free, Sunny, and Harper. “They ain’t worth givin’ the time of day, an’ even if they were, you’re runnin’ with us, remember?”

Dust groaned. “Fuck you, who do you think you are, my dad? Just cause you ain’t around for your own kid-”

She didn’t even get to finish the insult, because he punched her, hard. “Bitch, you better take it back-”

Freedom wrenched them apart. “Can you go two minutes without starting a fight, Dust?”

She shook her head, breathing hard. “Never tried, never wanna try.” 

“Try,” he said pointedly. “And you, OJ, isn’t it? Beating up kids, girls especially, doesn't make you look good. It makes you look like a dumbass who can’t keep his goons in line. So stop.”

He let go of both their arms. “What the hell were you arguing about, anyway?”

Dust was more bruised that he’d called her a kid than by the punch OJ had thrown. She didn’t want to look like any more of a child in front of Freedom, so she didn’t respond. When she had started caring what he thought, she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t so much who he was, moreso that anyone who could get OJ to shut up was someone she wanted on her side. His being nice to her certainly hadn’t hurt. 

OJ snapped at Freedom, “It ain’t none of your business, city boy.”

Freedom sighed. Sunny and Harper had come over now that Dust wasn’t right at OJ’s throat. “It is our business now,” he said, “because Dust is our friend, and I’m gonna help my friend.”

Any respect Freedom had gained from Dust vanished, and she stepped away from him. “I don’t need you to ‘defend my honor’, or whatever the fuck you think you’re doing. I can handle myself.”

“Can you really?” Sunny said quietly. 

“Yes,” she snarled at him, as fiercely as she knew how. “I may not like him-” she pointed at OJ, who was watching the exchange with amusement- “but he’s right, I run with him, and I ain’t about to abandon my gang.” 

OJ gave a sinister grin. Before Dust could think about what was happening, he gave a whistle, and bam, blasters were being pointed at the newbies’- at her friends’- heads. The worst part about running with the Angels was how fast they were to threaten to kill people. The one holding up Harper knocked the barrel of his blaster against her head. “The fuck is this, Dust?” they sneered. “You gotten so soft you’re takin’ in creepy crawlies now?”

Dust would have decked him, she really would, but she didn’t trust OJ to not give the order to start shooting. She settled for giving him a glare and saying, “You gotten so stupid you couldn’t wipe your ass without OJ tellin’ you how?”

She had to concede that things would have gotten a hell of a lot worse without Freedom there. He raised his hands as if he was being arrested and said, “you’ve got that nice Club right there, why don’t we all put the guns down and go in and talk this out civilly? No need for anyone to get hurt.”

OJ nodded, pretending he hadn’t just tried to fight Dust and he was the most logical man on earth, apparently. He gestured at his minions and they lowered their blasters somewhat reluctantly. Dust pushed forward to walk into Borealis first, holding up her head and her dignity. 

They ended up sitting at a table in the corner, the one where people were usually playing (and cheating at) poker. The Angels other than OJ had disappeared once it became apparent that no one was getting shot. Harper and Sunny wore identical expressions of fear, as if they’d never been in a club before. Harper, of course, hadn’t, but Dust had thought Sunny to be a little more daring than he actually was. At least the kid wasn’t raring to join up the way she’d been.

“What’s your endgame?” Dust asked Freedom in a low voice as OJ went off to get some whiskey. “You can’t gain anything here other ‘an a fragment of his respect, and that won’t get you nowhere.”

“I want to get you out of here, of course,” he said as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world. “And before you say you’re fine on your own, or some shit like that, remember that I could very well be your last chance of leaving the Angels. Even your pride can’t save you from that, right?”

Dust shut her eyes and ran her hands through her hair, wishing she weren’t so indecisive. On one hand, she’d gotten herself into the damn mess and she could get herself out, but what if he was right? For all his idiotic faults, OJ kept his promises, and it wasn’t like Dust had a plan. She saw the devil himself sauntering back over and before she could talk herself out of it, she said, “Okay, fine, get me outta here, I swear I’ll die otherwise.”

Freedom patted her shoulder comfortingly and, as OJ sat down, Harper’s tiny hand clasped around Dust’s own and squeezed. The gestures comforted her more than she’d expected them to. 

“So, the fuck you want from me, huh?” demanded OJ.

“I want you to disband the Neon Angels,” Freedom said without an ounce of sarcasm. Dust froze. That wasn’t what he’d said a second ago.

OJ laughed incredulously. “What have you been smokin’? If you’re gonna be that cocky, you may as well just get the fuck out.”

“Fine,” said Free, although he didn’t look too put off. “Whatever the fuck your deal with Dust is, drop it, and we can call it even.”

OJ took a long drink, draining his glass, an action which made Dust smile a little. It meant the real fun would soon begin. “Deimos owes me. I ain’t droppin’ that.”  
“We can get money.” Sunny spoke for the first time since they’d entered, and Dust winced slightly as OJ laughed at him.

“She don’t owe me anything so trivial as money. I saved the little girl’s life, more than once, so she’s payin’ me with all that borrowed time, you see?” he waved his hand languidly in the air as if to illustrate his point, but only ended up looking like a drunk. Dust supposed it wasn’t too far off from the truth.

“What’s she doin’ for you that’s so useful?” Free eyed him in suspicion.

“Knock that look off your face, I ain’t fuckin’ her, if that’s what you’re picturin’.”

Dust cut in before he could continue talking about her as if she weren’t there. “I’m a hitman. I take out Scarecrows, mainly, but dracs too if it’s necessary.”

“A damn good shot is what you are. Fuckin’ useful.” OJ slammed his fist on the table for emphasis. “As long as you run with me, I can getcha to take out whoever I want, whenever I want, an’ the Zones are good as mine!”

He was definitely exaggerating his control over the desert. Loads of people, especially neutrals, hadn’t even heard of the Angels. In Dust’s experience, mentioning she ran with them usually led to a question about why she was in a gang, rather than any sort of fear of the gang itself.

Freedom tapped Dust’s shoulder to get her attention. “Could he employ you even if you weren’t with the Angels?”

“Fuck you, don’t talk to her, talk to me,” OJ drawled. “The problem izzat she fuckin’ hates me so the second I let her go, she’ll fuckin’ kill me.”

“What if I promise not to?” asked Dust, crossing her fingers behind her back.

“I don’t trust you,” he said without hesitation. “Your word, your promise, whatever, it don't mean shit.”

They could have sat there bargaining forever, since neither Free nor OJ seemed willing to give up an inch of ground, but before long they were interrupted. Hollow Stitch, OJ’s partner, came over before long to talk to him. She was such a gorgeous woman that Dust hated him even more for being so close to her, while with Dust herself, Hollow Stitch had barely held a conversation. “Val’s run off again,” she said. “He wants to see you.”

“Go take care of your stupid kid,” Dust grumbled. “It’ll probably die in the Zones anyways.”

“For the love of God, Deimos, learn to watch your mouth.” he shot her one last glare before stalking off to god-knows-where with Hollow Stitch. Dust dropped her head onto the table and wrapped her arms around it. 

“Thanks for trying,” she said in a muffled voice to Freedom. 

“I won’t give up,” he promised, but Dust wasn’t sure it was possible. OJ was too much of an asshole to let anything go that easy. She was pretty sure he’d had it out for her since the beginning, and he would only tighten his grip if he thought she was slipping. No doubt, this would be a hard fight for her to win.   
“Welp,” Dust sighed, “what do we do now?”

“Let’s go back to the diner,” suggested Sunny. “I wanna see my sister, and I bet the Fab Four will know what to do better than us.”

So, without any other ideas, that was what they did.


	9. Attempts for Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poison does something dangerous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy it's this chapter-
> 
> tw for suicide attempt

Ghoul was surprised at how glad it made him to see his friends when the Four went back to the diner. They’d gone there after returning to the Nest to collect the Girl, having completely failed in their attempts at summoning the Witch. Ghoul was disappointed, of course, but that ritual was like something out of a Disney movie so he wasn’t too surprised. Maybe there was another way to speak to her. He mentioned the idea to Poison, who responded, “I can think of one.” they refused to elaborate any further.

When he heard about the interaction with OJ, Ghoul shook his head. “That guy’s bad news. I met up with ‘im once last year and he was yellin’ at the Angels as if he was their fuckin’ slave master. It’s a wonder more of ‘em don't try to leave.”

“Tell me about it,” Dust sighed. 

After a hearty meal- or the Zones version which was a few cans of Pup Power- the group split up to rest before they made another plan of action. Poison had been acting strange, Ghoul noticed, but the cherry on top was when they gave Kobra their mask before heading upstairs. “Take care of it,” they ordered.

“Okay?” responded Kobra, confused. “Can’t you do that yourself?”

“Yeah, normally, but… whatever you do, don’t lose it.” Poison put their hand over Kobra’s. “I love you, Kid.”

“I… love you too?” he turned away from Poison, who went to get some sleep. Ghoul could tell he was worried, and he didn’t blame him. Poison was being weird. They normally wouldn’t put so much emphasis on telling their brother they loved him; they said it at least three times a day, as off-handedly as ‘good morning’. It was obviously concerning to Kobra, and Ghoul was feeling the same. 

“Hey, Ghoul, d’you think they’re bein’... I dunno, outta character?”

“Maybe they’re just put off by what happened with the ritual? You’re right, they’re bein’ strange, but I couldn’t say why.” 

“I guess so.” Kobra’s hands suddenly tightened into fists, and when Ghoul looked at his face, he’d turned pale. “Ghoul. What if they… this sounds ridiculous, but what if they… kill themself or something?”

Ghoul kept his fear off his face for the Kid’s sake, but he was scared by the thought more than he wanted to admit. “Probably not but…” but what if they did? “I’ll go check on them.”

“I’ll come with you-”

“No,” he interrupted quickly. “I’m sure it’s nothing, so don’ worry ‘bout it. I can ask them what’s up.”

Ghoul left his friend sitting at the bar before he could further protest. The last thing Kobra needed was to see his sibling in the middle of an attempt, or worse, after. No, no, no, Ghoul didn’t want to think about that. Surely they wouldn’t. He was overreacting, he had to be…

He pushed open each door, scaring a few ‘Joys but not caring about them, before reaching the last room. Poison had to be there. He took a deep breath to steady himself before pushing inside.

Poison was holding a blaster to their head.

They dropped it onto their lap as soon as they saw Ghoul, putting their hands up as if to stop him, but of course it was too late. Ghoul forgot how to breathe, how to think. He shook his head wordlessly before one pushed its way through his lips. “Why?” 

“It’s hard to-” 

“N-no, wait, I’ve gotta get Kobra.” Ghoul snatched the blaster from them and ran down the stairs, tripping over his own feet, before seeing the Kid and gesturing at him to come up. 

“What happened?” he asked as he followed Ghoul back to where Poison was. 

“You were right,” he said simply. What else was there to say?

Poison was staring out the window when Ghoul pushed the door to one of the rooms open. They turned and quirked their lip up- not quite a smile, but something close. “Hey, Kobra.”

“Poison… what the fuck?” 

“I can explain.” they lifted their arms, this time in a placating gesture

“You could have talked to us!” Ghoul burst out. “If you’re depressed about- about anything, you can tell us-”

“I’m not depressed, I’m not suicidal, I’m not doing this because I want to die.” they were so calm, too calm, and Kobra looked like he was going to cry. Ghoul thought he might, too.

“Then why?” he whispered. 

Poison patted the bed next to them, and Kobra sat down. “It’s simple, really. If I die, an’ I meet the Witch, then I can learn about Harper’s past, an’ she’ll have the answers she wants. The answers we all want for her. That’s why I was tellin Kobes to keep my mask, ‘cause I need it to collect my soul, an’ so I could talk to you…”

Kobra laughed incredulously. “Poison, oh my god, you were going to commit suicide for the chance that maybe you could learn something about Harper’s past? She wouldn’t want that! You wouldn’t come back, anyway, ain’t no one talked to a dead person before!”

“I coulda bargained with her.” Poison shrugged.

“Bargained with- with the Witch?” Ghoul took a deep breath, trying once again to calm himself, before continuing. “That’s the worst plan I’ve ever heard, for anything, ever. An’ you were willin’ to gamble your life away on this?”

Poison nodded. “Yeah. Harper’s well-bein’ is more important than I am.”

Neither Kobra nor Ghoul spoke, too surprised by the audacity of the statement. Poison groaned. “You wouldn’t understand, but it’s like… she’s still got a chance at life, an’ the only way I’m gonna end up is shot to death by some drac in the desert, or locked up in a BLi prison. I’m livin’ on borrowed time, an’ she ain’t, so it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” Ghoul sat down on Poison’s other side and lifted her hand near their shoulder, then dropped it, frustrated. “You gotta promise me you won’t pull nothin’ more like this.”

“No! It’s our last chance to figure out what the fuck is goin’ on with her, I ain’t givin’ it up for-”

“Promise me, Poison. It’s my side of the deal.” Ghoul recalled their rooftop conversation. It felt like a thousand years ago, even though they’d had it less than a week before.

“Fine, I promise.” 

“Hey- whoa, what went down in here?” Jet Star burst in the door, his face turning from neutral to concerned as he took in the looks his friends were giving him.  
“Noth-”

“Poison tried to kill themself.” Kobra said. He tried to keep his voice calm but ended up choking on the word kill.

“What?” apparently the others were in hearing distance, because Sunny stepped inside a moment later. 

Ghoul and Kobra explained what they’d found, Poison cutting in at times and trying to explain their rationale. Their friends’ reactions were about what Ghoul would expect, even as he was still processing himself; a range of shock, disbelief, and anger at Poison. They ended up going back down to the diner floor, because the rooms were too small for nine people to be in. Harper burst into tears, apologizing profusely to everyone, and Kobra ended up crying too. 

“I’m not gonna give up on her, an’ we ain’t got a lead, so-” Poison threw their hands up, almost knocking their drink over.

Freedom had been silent the whole time, but he now cut in. “I have an idea.”

“What?” asked Poison eagerly.

“Well, there’s a place in the city called the House of Wolves, where the highest-ranking people at Better Living go to talk to criminals- Killjoys, mostly, but ones from the prison, too. They trade info and items and anything else that’s wanted. Whoever created Harper was definitely renown, since the equipment necessary is very restricted, and if that’s not corruption then I don't know what is. It’s probably the last chance we’ve got of finding out about her.”

“Uh, Free, in case you’ve forgot, the Four are the most wanted criminals on the fuckin’ planet,” Dust pointed out. “An’ ain’t the BLi employees just gonna turn them in?”

“Maybe, if we can’t find something to offer that’s worth more than the reward money. It’s dangerous for sure, but if Poison is determined-”

“I’ll risk it.” they leaned forward. “Where is it?”

“It’s… it’s underneath the Scarecrow Unit’s Headquarters.” Freedom shrugged in reluctance. 

“I’ll just hafta not get caught then, huh?” Poison said, undeterred. 

“You- wait, hang on,” Kobra protested. “You ain’t goin’ in there alone. I’m comin’ too!”

“Well, I should go in, as I know about it-” the rest of Free’s comment was lost as the others surged forward with various reasons as to why they should go in. Dust argued that she’d never been in the city, but Ghoul thought that was a bad thing. He should definitely go with his partner, because he didn’t trust them to not pull something else if there was a chance. He’d like to have the Fab Four all together, but they’d be recognized immediately. 

“I don’t see why it can’t be just me an’ Poison,” he suggested.

“At least one person who lived there recently should go with,” Sunny said, “like me.” 

They argued over it for almost half an hour, trading different teams and ideas, without finding a solution. Kobra was about to punch Dust because she kept saying he was too young to go. Poison and Ghoul were arguing endlessly about whether Poison should be allowed to go without Ghoul. He wasn’t sure what everyone else was talking about but it was similarly ugly. 

“Hey, hey, what’s goin’ on over here?” Dr. D rolled up in his wheelchair, silencing the chaos with a glance. Ghoul had to admire his power. The Joys were still shouting over each other, but he was eventually caught up to speed. They looked to him to settle the debate.

“Kobra.” the Kid sat up straight, surprised. “You’re the youngest of the Four, so you’re less likely to be recognized.” 

Ghoul wasn't sure that was sound logic, but Kobra was so excited he wasn’t about to fight the decision. Dr. D also named Freedom, Sunny, and Poison. Ghoul tried to argue that he should be allowed as well, but having three of the Four was a bad idea, and the siblings were both going. He would have to brief Kobra about keeping Poison under control.

“Right, so, we’re gonna go tomorrow?” asked Sunny excitedly.

“No, you can only get in on specific days. That’s the only time it operates. The ‘Crows who aren’t corrupt would bust it otherwise. Lucky for you all, I know which days thanks to my previous place of employment being shifty as hell.” Free began to write down the dates. One was coming up in a week.

“Just as well,” sighed Kobra. “We should prob’ly disguise ourselves or somethin’, right?”

“Sure, sure.” Poison waved their hand. “Makeovers or whatever, and then, we go and find Harper’s past.”


	10. Hellfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunny, Kobra, Poison, and Freedom venture into the House of Wolves. Their journey is dangerous, but if it pays off, they'll finally have what they need.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter! Tell me what you think!

Sunny had always assumed that Battery City was as perfect as it showed itself to be on the surface. Finding out about an underworld where the most brainwashed workers went to meet criminals and Killjoys was… well, it was surprising, to say the least. He was excited to see it, though, and curious as to how Free knew about it at all.

Before they could enter the House of Wolves, Fun Ghoul insisted that they change their looks to be less conspicuous. Sunny didn’t change anything major, they didn’t even have the supplies for that, but he got a new outfit. Since he’d come to the Zones, he’d been wearing a dull yellow leather jacket, an old t-shirt, and a pair of jeans. It was nondescript, but it screamed Killjoy, so he changed into a white denim vest and some light grey sweatpants. Light colors were good for BLi, since they built their whole operation on the concept of purity and productivity and industrialism.

It was time to go. Sunny was more scared than he wanted to admit. The House was going to shatter every last idea he had about the city, and he wasn’t quite prepared for it. He was pretty sure he’d never be prepared, though, and that meant now was good as ever. 

Poison ditched the Trans Am out of sight of the city, and they walked the rest of the way to the edge of the bubble. Sunny knew just what they were willing to sacrifice for the venture, and he wanted to make sure they got as much information as possible.

Once they were on the inside, Freedom became the one leading the charge, because he knew where to go. He had spent the past week in the radio shack getting any information he could from the daily city broadcasts. Sunny realized that he wasn’t actually sure about their goal, so he asked, “Are we lookin’ for anyone in particular?”

“Yeah,” Free responded. “An old co-worker of mine who I used to go to the House with. She’s the only person I know who’s both smart and heartless enough to make Harper.”

Sunny wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. It felt like every time he spoke to Free, he became more mysterious. “You must have been a pretty important worker, right? If you had access to the House?”

He hesitated, then said, “I suppose you could say that.”

“Wait, really?” asked Kobra. “Then how come I never met you before?”

Free gave him a confused look, but before he could explain, Poison interrupted, “It don’t matter. We ain’t got much farther to go, right? This place gives me the creeps, ‘specially at night.”

“Yeah, the place is just up here.” they were directly next to the center of BLi operations, and Sunny was on edge- more for his friends than himself. While he was sure people were looking for him, he wouldn’t be killed if he got caught. Kobra and Poison were both infamous enough to warrant the death penalty. It sounded like Free might know too much, like in those old gangster movies, and the government definitely bought into a ‘shoot now, ask questions later’ mentality.

Freedom led the group down an alleyway where a steel door opened into a dark staircase. It was lit only by the glow from below, and the stains on the walls were probably just paint, but Sunny didn't want to find out for sure. He stayed close to the other ‘Joys as they went into the House. He didn’t have any expectations, exactly, just fears of what was to come.

The first thing he noticed inside the actual House was all the bright colors. Sunny had imagined the place to be like the inside of a madhouse, but it couldn’t be any more different. The walls were painted black with red LED light strips taped to the floor, as if hell was opening up below. The couches and chairs around the room were mismatched and looked like they’d been dragged in by hand. They probably were, and Sunny suspected they’d been stolen, too. That would have bothered him a month ago, but living in the desert had already desensitised him to such minor crimes. 

“Okay, just… try to act normal,” Freedom said. “Kobra, you wanna come with me? I want to avoid having you and Poison seen together.” He headed for the next room, where a group of BLi employees were standing around and talking. The Kid followed close behind him. 

“I think I’m gonna get in on that game o’ pool, you gonna be okay without me?” Poison asked Sunny. 

“Of course,” he lied. He had absolutely no idea what to do, and was completely out of his depth, but Sunny wanted to look confident in front of Poison. They had an air about them that made it seem as if they were untouchable, something Sunny wished he was better at emulating. He was left alone, and without any direction, made his way over to the couch area. He sat down next to a boy who gave him a look of scrutiny. 

“You a juvie hall, too?” he asked. God, he was handsome. Sunny tried to swallow down his anxiety, without much success.

“No,” he responded.

“Killjoy, then?” he turned sideways, and Sunny noticed how gorgeous his eyes were, like whirlpools out in the ocean. 

“Uh, yeah.” Sunny said without thinking. He remembered after a moment that admitting he was a criminal was generally considered a bad idea. “Well- I mean-”

“Chill, I’m not gonna turn you in,” he said. “My name- well, I’m called Omen.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Sunny.” Trying to think of something to say, he asked, “If you’re a juvie hall, shouldn’t you be in a prison or somethin’? I remember security being pretty tight.”

Omen grinned. “Yeah, but they don't watch inside the cells, and the window bars are easy to break. As long as I’m back before sunrise, no one’ll be the wiser… I hope.”

“Good luck.” 

“You’ve never been here before, huh?” asked Omen, clearly amused. “You look like you think someone’ll grab you and handcuff you to a chair or something.”

“That’s pretty specific, you ain’t planning anything, are you?” Sunny joked. 

“I guess you’ll find out.” Omen leaned forward, a mischievous look on his face. Sunny tried not to show that he was panicking, but he had no idea what kind of relationship Omen was trying to establish. Was he flirting with Sunny, or was he just trying to get to know him? Sunny wished he wasn’t so oblivious about all that. He’d never been in a relationship before, though- not that he thought Omen wanted a relationship, he probably wasn’t into Sunny in that way, or maybe he was? It was confusing.

“Guess so,” Sunny said with an awkward laugh. He cringed internally at how he sounded. He was saved from having to worry when he was tapped on the shoulder by Kobra, whose face was dark and worried.

“We gotta go, now,” he whispered.

“Okay.” Sunny gave Omen one last smile. “Maybe I’ll see you around?”

He nodded. “I’ll look forward to it.”

Sunny was sure he was red in the face from the exchange. Poison and Free were waiting at the exit. As they hurried out of the House, Free explained, “Dr. Huy- that’s our source- recognized Kobra. You and Poison really need to explain just who you are, but we can worry about that later. If we don’t get outta here soon, they’ll be on us.”

“We can leave, then, right? You figured out everything Harper would wanna know, right?” Poison demanded.

“She said she don’t even remember!” Kobra burst out angrily. “She said she’d put her research in the lab an’ didn’t even think ‘bout it! An’ then she said she was gonna find my parents, an’ make me “back into a proper young man”...”

Suddenly he looked like he might cry, and Sunny patted his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “I’m sorry,” Kobra whispered.

“It ain’t your fault,” Poison told him. “I don’t wanna, but we can come back an’ find someone else, right?”

“Or…” Sunny looked at Freedom, who continued, “we could just… go get the records. She said they’re in St. Jerome’s, and I know where it is, and how to get in, so-”  
“Say no more! Lead the way!” Poison’s momentary sadness vanished, and they gestured excitedly at Free. He led them up a few streets and through the city, to a tall shining white building with ST. JEROME’S RESEARCH INSTITUTION written in silver lettering on the front. They followed Free to a small side door which had a fingerprint scanner. He was able to unlock it. 

“I’m surprised you weren’t locked outta the system,” Poison remarked. 

“Oh, they’re shit at keeping up about the people who don’t work there anymore,” he said as he shrugged.

They walked up the long stairway, empty and echoing like a forgotten planet. It reminded Sunny of his old school, where he was pushed around and teased his whole time there. Not exactly a good impression. All the buildings in Battery City were similar, of course. How else could they control people, other than taking away what makes them individuals?

Freedom pushed a door open to reveal a room with glass tanks filled with clear liquid- like water, but thicker. Sunny slowed his gait to look around. “This looks like something out of a movie.”

“I know,” Freedom muttered. “That was part of the appeal, apparently.”

He showed them through a few more rooms until they reached an office area. He showed them to a certain desk. “This is Dr. Huy’s. She should have her papers inside.”

He tried the drawer, but it was locked. Sunny was thinking about giving up, but Free wasn’t concerned. He grabbed a bobby pin off the desk and easily picked the lock, pulling out papers until he found a certain document. It had black strikethroughs all over it, and he tucked it into his pocket confidently. 

“How d’you know that’s the right one?” asked Poison dubiously. 

“I don’t recognise it. We’ve worked on most projects together.” he stood. 

“We should get out of here. Kobra doesn’t have much time now that he’s been seen,” Poison said.

“Yeah, that’s a good point,” Kobra agreed. 

“There’s one thing I want to do first.” Freedom took the other papers and scattered them across the floor. Sunny wondered if he was trying to make Dr. Huy annoyed, until he took a lighter out and dropped it onto the papers. “Revenge?” asked Sunny.

He took a small bottle of gasoline out and poured it onto the ground around the fire. “Revenge,” he agreed.

“What, you prepared and everything?” 

“I’m leaving my old life behind. It’s metaphorical.” he shrugged. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Good idea,” Sunny said. The fire was quickly growing into a blaze. He wasn’t too concerned about being burned by it, but if the sprinklers went off, they would be caught for sure. They went out the same door they came in, back down the echoey stairs, and outside. The flames were already visible from the ground, thick smoke pressing against the windows. No doubt it would spread more before anyone came to put it out. 

“A job well done,” Kobra said. He still looked worried, most likely about being identified, but Sunny was sure they would get back to the hole in the bubble before anyone managed to catch up to them.


	11. Girl Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dust has a job to do, but Harper wants to come along. Hopefully everything will still go to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, kinda hate the title of this one but I couldn't think of anything else so whatever. Enjoy!

Harper stared out the window of the diner and tried to remember who she was. It was all she had been thinking about since that day in the rain. She wanted so desperately to be someone, but all she could remember was a cold white haze of medication until Freedom had broken her out. A small part of her wanted to believe that there were people waiting for her in the city, people who loved her as their daughter regardless of her looks, but she knew that that wasn’t true.

“Hey, you better give that back!” Dust laughed as Ghoul stole her cup of coffee. Xe took an exaggerated sip and responded, “You sure you still want it?”

“That is my lifeblood you’re drinkin’ there!” Dust cried indignantly. 

Harper giggled even as the interaction sent a bittersweet stab through her heart. Maybe there was a family for her, but they had lost her when she was a baby. Maybe she had been stolen! Oh, that would be so dramatic!

“Hey, do people go missing in Battery City?” she asked, directing the question at Jet, who was sitting nearby. He was listening to the radio with the Girl, who was sleeping on the chair next to him. He gave her a long look, asking, “what?” in a confused voice.

“Do people-”

“Not very often,” he said. “Uh, sorry for interrupting.”

“If you had that reaction time in a fight, you’d get ghosted,” Ghoul said. “One of those days, huh?”

“Yeah, one of those days,” he agreed slowly. “I ain’t plannin’ on fighting anyone at the moment, though.” 

It was nice, Harper supposed, to be able to live without fear of being controlled or told what to do. She wasn’t as exposed to the rule of Battery City, but she’d heard and seen enough to know how lucky they were in the desert. Almost every Killjoy had some sort of horror story.

“Well,” said Dust, “I would love to stay here and have Ghoul steal more of my food, but… I’m bored.  
”  
“What are you gonna do if not mess around here? I don’t know you too well, but Dust, you don’t seem like the sorta girl to have… friends,” Ghoul teased.

“Hey, I’m her friend,” Harper interjected. “We’re friends, right?”

“Yeah, of course!” Dust said as she gave Ghoul a dirty look. “I’m kinda supposed to be doin’ a job. That’s why, before you guys started draggin’ me all over the Zones, I was out in No Man’s Land.”

Harper gasped. “Like, you’re trying to assassinate someone? Who? Is it someone from BLi? Can I help?”

Whoa, there, slow down!” Dust laughed and put her hands up. “I’m out for a Killjoy, but fae’s a rat. Fae told a Scarecrow about the last place we- that bein’ the Angels- had set up shop, an’ we had to move to Borealis. Which sucked, ‘cause the old place was way fuckin’ cooler, but now fae’re gonna be sorry.”

“What happened to the truce?” Jet asked. Harper was surprised he was following the conversation.

“Truce?” Dust said, looking confused. “Oh wait, d’you mean-”

“The truce between Killjoys?” asked Ghoul. “Thought you were ‘born and bred’, or whatever. ‘Joys don’t kill ‘Joys. It ain’t that hard.”

“Oh, yeah, that, well… that doesn't apply to me,” Dust shrugged. “If you still wanna come with, Harps, you’re welcome to.”

Harper nodded. She didn’t know there was a truce, but going with a real live assassin on a real live assassination was an opportunity she couldn’t miss. She grabbed the rest of the can of Pup Power she’d been picking at- the Zones were severely lacking in food that was made for humans- and followed Dust to her car. Maybe it was OJ’s car. Dust certainly had claimed it for her own. Harper tried to get into the shotgun seat but Dust shooed her out. “You’re too short! You might get hurt or somethin’.”

“Where are we even going?” Harper asked, climbing into the back with a little chagrin. 

“A few miles across this Zone. From what I’ve been hearin’, fae’re hangin’ around pretty close. I’m just gonna swoop in, ghost faer, and get outta there. Won’t take long. Although…” 

“Although?” asked Harper a little timidly. She wasn’t always on board with Dust’s plans. 

“Although, it might piss OJ off if I do a sloppy job. ‘Specially if I make it clear an Angel did the killin’. You remember that truce Jet mentioned?”

“Yes, it seemed serious. Why do you want to make OJ mad? I would wanna stay on his good side. Maybe he’ll do what you want then.” Harper leaned forward, trying to look Dust in the eye. She was looking at the road for once, so the action was to no avail. 

Dust groaned. “He needs me around, so he’ll keep me runnin’ no matter what I do. Just ‘cause I’m stuck don't mean I gotta have a good attitude about it.”

Harper was about to respond when a strange wave of dizziness slammed over her, and she sat back in her seat with a huff. She shook her head slightly in an attempt to clear it, but it only began to ache slightly. “You okay?” Dust asked her.

“Yeah, fine, just… carsick, I guess?” Harper would have shrugged, but she wanted to stay still.

“Shit, girl, if you’ve been ridin’ in Poison’s car then I ain’t got no clue why you’d get sick now,” Dust joked. “You’ll be okay. Just… look out the window, I think that helps.”

“Okay…” Harper decided to count cacti. By the time the car slowed to a halt, her head no longer hurt, but the world still looked a bit like it was spinning. “Fifty-three,” she announced.

“Fifty-three?” echoed Dust as she took a long black coat with a hood out of her trunk.

“Oh, that’s how many cacti I saw on the way here.” Harper smiled, although she was still too disoriented to feel happy.

“Alright then, good to know,” Dust said. She put the coat on, covering her blonde hair, which had pink streaks framing her face. They’re all pretty until they open their mouths, a voice suddenly whispered in Harper’s mind. She gasped and pressed a hand to her forehead, which began to ring worse than before. She’d never heard the voice in her life, but it was familiar somehow. She realized with a shock that she was remembering something, or rather, someone.

“Why don’t you stay here?” Dust suggested in a worried tone. 

“No, it’s fine, I’ll be fine,” Harper insisted. She could barely hear her own voice, because she was reaching back to memories that weren’t there for more than just that little snippet. Someone was talking to her, or near her, but that’s basically the same thing. She didn’t particularly like the sound of what the mystery person was saying, but it was something, and it wasn’t enough. 

“Hmm.” Dust sounded dubious. “You’re your own person, I ain’t in charge here.” 

She started to walk away and Harper followed, looking at the scenery around them for the first time. They were going into an abandoned apartment building, which might have been white years ago but was caked in brown sand and dust. It had dry lichen growing down one side, giving it the look of some ancient abandoned tower from a fairytale. 

“Fae’re in here,” Dust whispered. They walked into the front lobby, which had a decrepit sign that used to display the word welcome but now only showed WLME. Harper shivered.

“Mayhem Tattoo! I know you’re in here!” Dust yelled.

“What are you doing?” Harper hissed. “You can’t just- now fae have a warning!”

Dust gave her a grin. “I’m doin’ a bad job.”

Someone was coming down the stairs. Faer footsteps rung like a tolling bell around the empty space. Harper resisted the urge to run back to the car, but only barely. She stepped behind Dust, who cocked her blaster. She took a deep breath as the person came into view. Fae were a distinctive looking ‘Joy, with bright yellow dreadlocks,skin as dark as obsidian, and white tattoos upon faer arms. Fae gave a tired look to the pair. “The fuck do you-”

Mayhem didn’t have a chance to finish faer sentence, because Dust’s first shot hit faer in the shoulder. Fae stumbled, crashing down to the landing before pushing faerself to faer feet. “Okay,” Dust said slightly breathlessly. “That was a mistake.”

Harper took the opportunity to run across the room and duck under the stairs. Mayhem pulled a knife from faer pocket with the uninjured arm before lunging at Dust. She stepped nimbly out of faer way and pointed the blaster at faer.

“I won’t miss again,” she promised. Mayhem gave her a long look, breathing hard, before dropping the knife. 

“Is this ‘bout that whole thing witha ‘Crow? ‘Cause I ain’t a mole, or a rat, or any other sorta snitchin’ rodent. I made the damn thing up, I swear, I-”

This shot hit faer directly in the head, blood spattering back onto the ground behind faer. Fae stepped back, and then the strings holding faer up were cut and fae crumpled like a rag doll to the ground. Harper shuddered, wanting to close her eyes but unable to look away. Fae were so still, and faer eyes were still open… fae had brown eyes, natural eyes, without contacts. Harper smacked a hand back up to her forehead as she was completely thrown into a memory.

_The world was tinted blue and wobbly because of the glass container Harper was being held in. She watched as a doctor stepped away, her warm brown eyes meeting Harper’s red ones. She pushed a button on the container- it was more of a tank, really- and turned to a man with a clipboard standing nearby. “She’s progressing well, much better than any of the other embryos.”_

_“I am proud of her,” the man agreed. “I hope she’ll be able to stand the next few tests. If so, we could be on the brink of something big.”_

_“Yes…” the doctor mused. “Well, let’s see before we get our hopes too far up.”_

_She turned to watch as a tube was stuck into the tank. The roof descended upon Harper and a smoky gas began to pour out of the tube, quickly making Harper sleepy. She wanted so badly to slip into the haze and drift away, but some small danger light was going off in her brain, so she forced her eyes open for as long as possible._

_Still, the last thing before she succumbed was the doctor saying, “I believe in her. She is my blood, after all.”_

Harper sat up, gasping and shaking. Her body wouldn’t stop shaking. She couldn’t stop shaking. Stop shaking! She swallowed hard and coughed, trying to catch her breath and calm down, but her thoughts were running a million miles an hour. She wrapped her arms around herself and tucked her knees to her chest.  
Maybe she shouldn’t be looking for her family after all.


	12. Pyrrhic Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kobra learns that even in places of hatred, there are good people. Unfortunately, it seems there are far more who are bad.

Kobra couldn’t stop looking over his shoulder. Even as he ran under the shadows of buildings, where no one could see him, he expected to be grabbed by a Drac at any moment. He knew he was the most paranoid of his friends, but he was the one who’d been recognized. If anything happened to them, it would be his fault.   
“Just a few more streets,” he whispered. Poison patted his shoulder comfortingly. 

They were almost there, so close Kobra could taste it. They turned a corner to where the passage was-

And stopped, because a group of five dracs were in their path. “Shit,” Poison muttered, reaching for their blaster. It was pretty clear to Kobra that a fight wouldn’t turn out in the Killjoys’ favor, so he grabbed his sibling’s arm and dragged them with him as he ran. He was glad to see the other two had had the same idea. 

“Hey, get back here!” yelled one of the Dracs, and Kobra could hear their footsteps as the group gave chase. They dashed through the alleyways until the streets suddenly became more familiar to Kobra. He resisted the urge to stop short because he knew where they were, this was where he’d grown up, and he wasn’t ready to face any of it. From the stricken look on Poison’s face, they were thinking the same. 

“Over here,” Freedom called as he swerved into a darkly lit door. Kobra followed him inside. They were in a storage compartment, which had couches and lights and tables. It looked like someone lived there. Kobra was tired and scared and not at all in the mood to find another hiding spot, so he just hoped the owner wouldn’t come back. 

“I can’t believe we’re here,” Poison said quietly. They took their mask off and turned it over and over in their hands. “I didn’t think I’d see this place ever again.”  
“Me either,” Kobra agreed. He wasn’t sad, so much as scared of being dragged back to his old life. He didn’t remember almost anything about how he’d lived, just that Poison had always been incredibly protective of him. Whenever he asked them about it, they said they didn’t want to talk about it. 

“I just… this ain’t where I’m s’posta be, an’ I…” they sighed. “I’m not gonna go back.”

“You won’t have to,” Freedom reassured them. “We’re gonna get out of here.”

“We just have to wait until the Dracs have left,” Kobra agreed with a confidence he didn’t feel. They might not have seen the ‘Joys, but even with their hive mind, they weren’t stupid. It was more than likely they’d be found. Kobra didn’t want to give up, he wouldn’t give up, but he was scared. He had no idea what would happen if he was caught, but it wouldn't be good. He looked around their makeshift hideout, hoping to see a second exit, but there was nothing.

And then, to his horror, the door creaked open again.

The four Killjoys were on their feet immediately, drawing their blasters and pointing them at the people entering.

They were droids.

Porno droids to be exact, wearing skimpy outfits. They looked identical except for the fact that one had red hair and one had blue hair. Kobra lowered his blaster, as did his friends. The droid girls looked surprised to see the intruders, then scared. Red hair stepped forward and said, “Who are you, and what do you want?”

Poison put their hands up in a placating motion. “My name is…” they hesitated, looking at Sunny and Freedom. “My name is Par.”

Kobra liked the pseudonym, it was believable and yet still part of their Zone name. Stepping forward, he said, “We didn’t mean to intrude. We can go…”

He trailed off because Freedom was shaking his head. From outside the small room, the sound of muffled yelling came. It was Dracs. Kobra knew because they sounded autotuned, almost like robots. They ran past, and he could make out “...loop around…” before they were too far to hear anything else.

“They’ll be back,” he sighed. 

“Are you being chased by those draculoids?” blue hair asked. “They’re mean.”

“I know,” said Poison, throwing their hands up dramatically. “We didn’t even do nothin’, but…”

We only burned down a building, thought Kobra, but he didn’t want to say anything. No need to antagonize the women who apparently lived in the building they’d broken into. 

“We need somewhere to hide out,” ventured Sunny. “D’ya think we could hang around, just for a little?”

Red hair’s eyes narrowed, stepping forward. “It was you, wasn’t it? You guys burned down St. Jerome’s.”

“Wh- uh, what makes you think that?” asked Sunny. 

Red laughed. “Why else would a bunch of Killjoys be hidin’ out right near the crime scene?”

Kobra conceded to her that she was correct, and she said it was fine if they stayed for a short amount of time. The droids acted surprisingly human, joking and telling stories with the ‘Joys. Their ownership of the storage compartment was less than legal, because “droid” and “legal” were mutually exclusive words in Battery City. Not for the first time, he wondered why droids were manufactured as A.I.’s if they weren’t going to be treated intelligently.

It had been almost an hour when the ‘Joys decided to leave. It seemed safe enough, since they hadn’t heard the Dracs since the first time they’d passed. Kobra stood and stretched, getting ready to go. He was pretty sure they would be okay now, and he was more than ready to get back to the Zones. 

“Thank you,” he said sincerely to the droids. Blue gave him a hug and wished them all good luck.

The ‘Joys were cautious as they left the building, jumping at the sound of their own breaths. They took longer to get back to the passage than they did to go to the House. Taking care to leave no trace of themselves, they whispered shhh’s to each other as they took a different route to the passage. Kobra sighed in relief when they got there. He crawled through the small space and helped his friends through as well. 

When they went to the Trans Am, Poison immediately climbed into the front seat. The group was about to drive away when Free said, “wait!” 

“What is it?” asked Sunny.

“We should check these out before we get too far from the city,” said Freedom as he pulled the papers he had stolen out of his pocket. 

“Right, yeah, I don’t wanna hafta go back in,” said Poison. Kobra thought they didn’t have to go back in, for any reason, and Poison’s dedication to the cause didn’t make any sense to him. Hopefully they would let it go if the document had the information they wanted. 

Freedom skimmed through the first page before passing them to Poison. They flipped through, looking more and more disturbed as they read. By the time they’d finished, they looked murderous. They handed the document to Kobra, who began to read with a mix of eagerness and fear.

“Harper Huy, born December 8th, 2011,” he read aloud. “Patient was assigned the number 34909. Uh, born female, weight, height, et cetera… oh!” 

He found something that actually looked interesting. “February 28, 2011: 34909 was subjected to test 1. 34909 was not highly affected. March 6, 2011: 34909 was subjected to test 2. 34909 has not yet required food or water.”

Kobra scanned the rest of it, wondering why all of the dates were so early on in Harper’s life. They ended in 2014, with Harper failing a test. He told them that, and then read the exact transcript. “34909 was put into a medical coma after almost asphyxiating. How can they-”

“I don’t know. But I don’t want her to read all of this. Whatever Harper’s expecting, this’ll disappoint her, and we’ve gone through so much for it…” Free sighed.  
Kobra was tired, and they had finally gotten what they wanted, but was it worth it? He was disgusted, and it felt like the graphic reports were seared into his mind. He stared at the back of the document. His friends were despondently talking about their findings, evidently thinking the same as him. He just wanted to go back home, because all of the thoughts were crashing in his skull. He didn’t know it was possible to do the things they had done to Harper. Test tube babies, genetic modification, and subjecting her to literal torture? He didn’t even know what all of the tests meant. 

Sunny patted his shoulder, asking for the papers. Kobra passed them to him, almost not caring anymore.

“Did any of you read the last page?” Sunny ventured timidly.

“No?” Kobra said with a bit of annoyance. He didn’t want to look at the thing. He just wanted to go back to two days ago when he didn’t know it existed. “Why?”  
“Because…” Sunny began to read. “‘The world may not be ready for our research, but we will not falter. We will relocate and begin experimenting again when a suitable embryo has been grown.’ Dr. Huy’s gonna do this again. We can't let her hurt anyone else.”

“Holy shit…” Kobra shuddered. “I don’t know how we can help, but you’re right.”

“Yeah, Jesus, I ain’t gonna let anyone else’s life get taken away the way Harper’s was,” agreed Poison. “I guess we could kill the doctor, but…”

“Hang on.” Freedom stepped in front of them. “We’re not gonna kill anyone.”

“Okay fine, what if we make her become a Drac?” suggested Sunny. “We could expose her with this!”

“What does it matter, the whole point of this was for Harper, right?” asked Kobra. “We got what we wanted, and ain’t there a manhunt out for me, an’ by extension, Poison, right now? We can’t go back without riskin’ getting caught, way more than usual.”

He hoped Poison would listen to him. He just wanted to go back to the diner, and be reassured that his sibling was okay. Being away from Ghoul and Jet was taking a toll on him, and Poison too, most likely. He didn’t know if he could convince them, but even they had a sense of danger. 

“You’re right, but…” Poison hesitated.

“How ‘bout this, I can go and turn it in anonymously or something, and you three could wait here,” suggested Freedom. 

Poison went back and forth with him for a few minutes, but Freedom’s suggestion was solid, so they didn't really fight him. Sunny and Poison got him to agree to take Sunny along, for both of their safety. Kobra didn’t really like it- he just wanted to take his friends home, because the longer they spent there, the more danger they were in- but at least he had Poison back. They might not be happy about it, but they were safe, and Kobra knew it was best for them.


	13. In Memoriam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Show Pony just wanted to have a relaxing afternoon and hang out with their friend. They didn't sign up for any of this murder stuff, and they want everyone to know that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mass uploading the rest of the fic, sorry for the spam to anyone following :) I have to start studying for finals and I'll forget to post everything if I don't put it up now

Show Pony really wanted to see their friend. They’d been killing Dracs solo for the last three days, and it had felt more like forever. Mayhem was one of Pony’s closest companions, and fae were always up for hearing a good story. They hummed to themselves as they walked up to the imposing building Mayhem lived in. Fae weren’t in charge of it, exactly, but fae lived there whereas the other ‘Joys who frequented the place only visited. They opened the door, walked inside, and-

And stopped because their friend was lying on the ground with faer brains blasted out on the floor. Pony froze. Fae weren’t the sort of person to get someone so mad they’d kill faer. Pony’s eyes dragged upward to see Dust Deimos crouching over some kid, who was collapsed on the ground. 

“What is going on?” Pony asked, their words like icicle daggers stabbing at Dust. Even if her blaster hadn’t been lying on the floor next to Mayhem, she was a Neon Angel, and Pony knew that gang was notorious for not giving a shit about the truce.

Dust stood slowly and turned to face them. They were surprised at how scared she looked. “Would you believe me if I said fae killed faerself?”

Pony shook their head. Dust knelt back down and picked the kid up with an amount of care Pony wouldn’t attribute to a murderer. They saw that she wasn’t just a normal girl, this was the kid who had come to the diner a few weeks ago. The weird one with all the badass mutations. They wondered why she would be here with Dust, but then decided that another layer to the scene would give them a headache.

“Okay, really, why’s my friend dead?” Pony gave much more of a shit about Mayhem than they did about the kid, especially since she was still breathing, so in a better state than fae were.

Dust shrugged. “Fae were a rat, an’ fae got what fae deserved.”

“No fae weren’t!” Pony stared at her, disturbed. “Those were rumors, Jesus, d’you really believe everything you’re told without even checkin’ the facts first?”  
“Uh, yeah, that’s kinda my job?” she laughed, but they could hear the guilt under her nonchalance. “I’m a fuckin’ assassin. I get told who to shoot and I shoot ‘em. It ain’t that hard to compre-”

“Well maybe,” hissed Pony, “you should rethink your career, ‘cause killin’ innocent people’s what Bat City does, not us.”

“Fuck, whatever, I need to deal with Harper before feelin’ bad about Mayhem,” she said. You wanna give faer a ‘proper funeral’ or some shit, be my guest, but I’m gettin’ outta here.”

She walked off with all the dignity and grace of a three-legged giraffe, at least in Pony’s eyes. They didn’t want her doing anything worse, like going off and killing some other ‘Joy, so they called, “Where you headed to?”

“The diner, why d’you give a shit?” she responded without turning to look at them. It wasn’t a question, and she was out of earshot before they could have given an answer, anyway.

Pony did want to give Mayhem a goodbye, but there was something they wanted to do first. They took a long look at their friend before going up the stairs to the third floor. The walls had all been knocked out, and now the whole room was a “Vibe Chamber” according to the graffiti on the door. He found some spraypaint in a pile in the corner- just what he wanted. He took it back down and began to work on the floor under Mayhem. 

When he was finished, Pony stepped back and admired his handiwork. Mayhem had wings and a halo painted around faer, so fae looked like an angel. The message was loud and clear, but Pony wrote “ fallen neon angel” on the wall anyway, just to be extra on the nose. 

They wondered for a second if this would actually do anything, then brushed the concern off. Of course it would. No self respecting Killjoy liked seeing that one of their own had been killed. Everyone knew the Angels had no care for the truce, but seeing it done and bragged about could really start a fire. They would get their comeuppance now. 

With a heavy sigh, Pony looked at their friend once more. Fae weren’t wearing faer mask, but Pony knew where faer room was. They went to the top floor, where there were some cracks and holes in the floor that set them on edge. Why fae lived up there, they didn’t know, but they didn’t envy faer in the slightest.

Mayhem’s mask was hanging off faer bedpost. Pony grabbed it, looking over it for a moment. It wasn’t much, just a thin pair of sunglasses that reminded Pony of that guy from the X-Men comics, Cyclops. It was black with white swirling designs all over. It definitely suited Mayhem, and Pony questioned whether fae’d gotten faer tattoos to copy it. 

They also grabbed a curtain before going back, careful again to avoid the broken floor. They laid the sheet over Mayhem. They vaguely remembered something their parents would say when they were young, when someone died. “Uh… eternal rest grant unto you, may you rest in peace,” was all they could recall. It would have to do.  
Pony still had one more thing to do for their friend. They had borrowed- without asking, but they’d take it back- Cherri Cola’s motorcycle to get here, and now they drove to the nearest mailbox. It was a few miles out, but they didn’t take long to get there. This mailbox was a lot less decorated than some of the others, so after Pony had slid Mayhem’s mask inside, they took the spraypaint out and wrote out Mayhem’s name on one side. 

Finally, it seemed like they had done what they could for Mayhem. For a moment, they were sad that they couldn’t do more. The desert was undoubtedly better than the city, but in the city, Mayhem might be remembered by more people. Fae might be honored, with a funeral and flowers or whatever the fuck is appropriate. But out here, all fae got was some graffiti. Was it enough?

It would have to be. 

Pony wasn’t sure where to go now that they were done. They thought they should keep track of Dust, but then again, it wasn’t as if she was the only mercenary. They hadn’t cared about this, any of it, before now, but Mayhem hadn’t deserved any of this. If the Angels were willing to kill over a rumor, how long until it was nothing but sport?

On a whim, Pony headed in the direction of Club Borealis. It was not the sort of place they’d hang around, even if they liked the people in charge there, and they sure as hell didn’t. They knew Cherri’s bike functioned well enough to attract attention, and people who would take what they shouldn’t, so they ditched it under the porch. Hopefully no one would look there in the short time their task would take. 

They didn’t bother knocking before striding inside. There were a lot of people hanging out and drinking, considering that it wasn’t even six o’clock yet. They looked around, before recognizing someone they actually knew. “Hey, Stitch, how ya doin’?”

The young woman looked up from across the bar at them. “Hey, Pony, what brings you ‘round here?” 

“I’m lookin’ for ole’ OJ, you seen him ‘round?”

Stitch nodded. “He’s out back, why d’you want him?” 

Pony thought of their rather limited knowledge of OJ. He was reputed as both fearsome and annoying, depending on who you asked. He didn’t seem very reasonable, and he probably wouldn’t side with Pony. Stitch, on the other hand…

“Well,” sighed Pony to her, “it’s kinduva long story, but basically, I… found-” no need to incriminate themself in her eyes- “a ‘Joy who’d been taken out by an Angel, an’ the whole thing was like a braggin’ rights scene. I figured OJ would wanna know?”

They hoped the leader of the Angels had enough decency to at least pretend he cared. He had to be okay with the actions, since he was the one requesting them, but if he were smart he would save face by denouncing it. Problem was, he wasn't too smart.

Stitch nodded slowly. “That don’t sound too good. I’ll mention it to him.” 

“Thanks,” Pony said. They didn’t want to overstay their welcome, but they also didn’t want to seem too eager to leave. The Angels were a cutthroat group, and being on their bad side was a death wish. Even if you hadn’t done anything on purpose. “Anything I can help ya out with ‘round here?”

“Nah,” she said, waving a hand at him. “Things are goin’ pretty damn well right now, all things considered.”

They exchanged a few more platitudes and Pony left, grabbing the bike from under the porch as they did. It was thankfully untouched. As they drove off to go to the diner- more to make sure that Dust wasn’t lying to them than anything else- they saw OJ go into the building through the back door. They smiled at the sight.  
They sat innocuously in a corner booth at the diner, sipping on a can of pop and surveying the people around them. They didn’t see Dust herself, but they saw her car, and considering the rooms upstairs it was confirmation enough. They were thinking about the rest of their plans- meet up with Newsie and talk to her about her girlfriend, maybe- when Poison and Kobra came inside. Poison had their usual confident look, but Kobra looked… disturbed. Pony called to them, “what happened to you two?”

The siblings began to detail their adventures into Bat City, showing them some papers that Freedom had stolen. “D’ya know where Harper is?” asked Kobra.  
“Upstairs, probably? I ain’t exactly keepin’ close tabs on all your friends.” 

Poison thanked them and went off to look for Harper. Pony tried to reassure Kobra, but they understood his disgust now. They would rather be married to Dust than deal with the people behind that.


	14. Over the Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dust should have learned to control her temper long ago, but now she thinks it might be too late.

Dust was concerned for Harper. She had been passed out ever since she’d collapsed at Mayhem’s, and Dust was beginning to worry about whether she would wake up. She’d tried everything short of splashing water on her face, and she was ready to fill a bucket. Not only was Harper being comatose scaring her, it was also putting a serious wrench in her day. She had things to do other than sit with the girl.

“Hey, Dust, I’ve been lookin’ for you!” she turned to see the now-familiar face of Poison from the door. 

“Whoa, what happened to her?” they asked, gesturing at Harper.

“Long story,” sighed Dust, “but she ain’t woken up for almost a full day now.” 

“Dammit,” Poison muttered. They sat down next to Harper and poked her cheek, but she didn’t even stir. 

Dust was glad they had showed up, because she was sick of being a nursemaid. Harper wasn’t awake, sure, but she was fine. She was breathing and her heart was beating. Dust had seen much worse before. “Well,” she said, “you tell her what’s goin’ on if she wakes up, okay? An’ come and find me.”  
“What, you’re just gonna leave?” Poison demanded.

“Yeah?” Dust shrugged. “She ain’t dead, an’ she’s stable, so why not?”

“Because what if something changes?” They were being ridiculous, thought Dust. She had a life outside of taking care of other people. Why didn’t anyone seem to give a shit about that?

“Like I said, you come an’ get me, then. I’ll tell ya if I actually leave the diner,” Dust said, trying to keep her voice calm. She quickly walked away, almost tripping down the stairs. She walked outside and leaned against the wall. If she were in one of those old teen angst stories, she would be smoking a cigarette. But this was the Zones, so all she had was her balled fists and the hot anger curling in her chest.

And then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, OJ came pulling up. He stormed over to her and grabbed the collar of her shirt. “The Mayhem Tattoo job,” he spat. “Are you goin’ insane or are you legitimately that stupid?” 

“What?” Dust was too confused to put up an aloof face. She hadn’t done anything obvious enough to warrant this reaction. “I just-”

“You just wrapped and sent a present to everyone who hates the Angels- and we both know that’s too many damn people.”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Dust said as she shoved him away, “but I ain’t got no part in it.”

“This isn’t a game. You been a bitch, you been a brat, but you ain’t never been kamikaze before.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what kamikaze means,” might not have been the wisest thing to say. OJ grabbed her upper arm and dragged her to his current vehicle. Dust was surprised it was still operating with all the rust coating it. 

“Hey, leamme alone!” she snapped as he pointed at the passenger seat. “I’m pretty sure abductin’ a girl ain’t gonna look too good for you either-” 

“You don’t know what I’m talking about? ‘Cause Stitch told me everything.” OJ demanded. “Let me show you.”

Dust knew she wasn’t in any actual danger- OJ was too spineless to do anything to hurt her- but she had a feeling she wasn’t gonna like what she found at Mayhem’s place. She looked around for something to do, some excuse to leave, but found none. She wasn’t going to go back to Harper, then she’d look like a dumbass and a coward. So she held her head high and pretended she wasn’t being treated like a high school girl whose father caught her drinking at a party.

About three fourths of the way there, OJ said, “You know, when you were little and you joined up, I tried ta take you under my wing. Keep you safe an’ all that-”

“Just kill me now,” Dust muttered, but he ignored her. 

“But you only ever wanna do what you think’s best for you, an’ you ain’t always right, either.” 

He continued to lecture her about how she was putting herself in jeopardy by acting reckless, blah blah blah. Dust considered jumping out of the car and trying to get away, but he was driving so fast it would probably hurt her. She gave a loud sigh of relief when they reached the apartment building. “Jesus, if you’re this bad with someone who ain’t even your own kid, I pity Val.”

Instead of responding, OJ threw open the door and pointed to the lobby with a dramatic flair Dust would have more attributed to Poison. She stared at the scene- it was different from when she’d left with Harper. “Show Pony,” she muttered.

“You see- what?”

“This-” she gestured around the room- “wasn’t me, dumbass. Show Pony rolled in here when I was tryna leave, they framed me, ya see!” 

OJ gave her a long look, and for a moment, she thought he was going to believe her- believe the truth! But then he burst into laughter. “Girl, that is the stupidest lie I have ever heard. Why the fuck would Pony do anythin’ like this? They ain’t nearly as hot headed as you.”

“Shut- I- that’s irrelevant! It don’t matter who’s more likely to do this shit! Why would I do this, huh?” Dust knew she sounded guilty, but she was telling it like it was. If OJ didn’t believe her, it was his funeral. 

Quite possibly hers too, but she shoved that thought down into the recesses of her mind. 

“Because, you were tryna get outta the Angels last week with that newbie. By the way, Deimos, you really should deal with those daddy issues o’ yours.” 

Dust felt something inside of her snap. “Fuck you, OJ, I’m leavin’ right now an’ there ain’t nothin’ you can do to stop me. It don’t even matter who was showin’ off, I hope it destroys your fucking gang, they’re nothin’ but a buncha future dracs.”

She stormed off, feeling like a child, and knowing she looked like one. Dust heard him coming behind her. “What.” 

“Come on. We’re goin’ back to the Club, now.”

“No.” Dust glared at him. “Why do you think you’re in charge of me? You don’t mean nothin’ to me.”

“Sure,” he said skeptically. “Ain’t as if you’re ‘bout to cry or anything.”

He couldn’t make her go, not if he dragged her by her hair. She wouldn’t let him. “I don’t cry.”

“Well, how about this.” OJ obviously didn’t want to reason with her, but Dust made sure to not give him another choice. “We go an’ find them an’ ask them what exactly happened.”

Dust didn’t see another option, not without looking irrevocably guilty, and she would never get away from him if she was blamed. If she even survived the fallout.  
“Fine.” 

The trip took forever and no time at all. When they got there, Dust was quick to head for inside, not wanting to deal with him alone for a second more.

“Wait,” OJ said, and she hated his voice more than anything she’d heard in her life. “Deimos-”

Her thoughts stopped when he grabbed her shoulder. She acted on impulse and emotion and a strange desire to ruin everything she had left.

Dust whipped around, took her blaster out, and shot OJ square in the chest. She didn’t stop shooting, not when he gasped for air, not when he stumbled away from her, and not when he dropped to the ground. She didn’t stop shooting until her blaster had no more juice, and then she collapsed and started to sob. Guess she did cry after all. 

“Dust- whoa, what the fuck happened here?” She recognized it as Poison, and wiped at her face frantically, trying to stop her tears from coming. It was like she had no control over herself. 

“She shot my husband,” Hollow Stitch told Poison. Apparently she was there, too, probably also looking for Dust. Well, she’d found her. “And a bunch of other shit to get her here, but it ain’t as important as that.”

Dust was simultaneously grateful that she didn’t have to speak, and mad that she was being spoken for. Well, maybe not mad, exactly. She didn’t have any more anger to give. It was more like an echo of anger, a place card until she could muster up the real thing.

“Fuckin’ hell, Dust, I ain’t got time to deal with this, too.” Poison said. They knelt down and put their hands on Dust’s shoulders, low enough that she had to look them in the eye. “Harper’s awake… kind of. I dunno what to do with her.”

“Just… it doesn’t matter, just leave me alone, I don’t care, it’ll be fine…” she babbled. Of course Poison had to focus on the worst phrase that had come out of her mouth.

“You don’t care? What if she dies, huh?” 

“With me helpin’ her, she might die anyway, I don’ got the best track record with that if you couldn’t tell,” Dust whispered bitterly.

“I ain’t got time for your self-pity, get up an’ come with me.”

“Now hang on a damn second, I wanna talk to her, too,” said Stitch, and Dust had the horrible sense that she was public enemy number one. She deserved all of this, everything anyone said to her, and whatever the outcome of this was. Part of her wanted Stitch to just shoot her and be done with it, but most of her thought a quick death was too much. She’d never wanted to pay for her actions. She never had. All these consequences, all at once- and it might have only been for one mistake, but it felt more like her whole life crashing down, all at once.

“Go away, ain’t enough damage been dealt?” demanded Poison. “Look at her, she’s feelin’ bad, an’ you can find her when this whole thing’s been de-escalated.”  
“St- st- uh,” Dust choked on her own words, before heaving out, “Stop talkin’ as if I ain’t here.”

She pushed herself to her feet, dignity long gone, and numbly let Poison take her hand and take her into the diner. They wrapped an arm around her neck and walked close to her, so people couldn’t see her messy face. It was more kindness than she deserved.


	15. Strange Omens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freedom just wants to leave Battery City. Hopefully he'll never have to go back there again.

The trips back and forth were beginning to get tiring. Free really wanted to go back to the desert, and not have to deal with the endless stress of being possibly found and killed. But he had a job now, and he was going to fulfill it. At least he knew where to go. He hated the place that was affectionately referred to as “the Tower of Doom” by his old coworkers. It was an endless maze of robots- not A.I.’s, just regular old robots- and tiring stairs. They didn’t have elevators! Who doesn’t have elevators?

Sunny asked, “We aren’t far, right?”

“No, it’s just up here.” Free wasn’t sure how to feel about him being there. On one hand, it was nice to have a companion. On the other, Sunny was another responsibility to keep safe, and Freedom had enough on his plate already. 

“Wow…” they reached the circular tower, which stretched all the way to the top of the bubble. It was in the center of the city, so Freedom knew it was a hell of a long way up. He hoped they wouldn’t have to walk the whole way up. 

A thought suddenly struck him. “What if the robots notice us? Surely there are missing peoples’ reports out by now.”

Sunny gave a rueful laugh. “I doubt it for me, I don’t have a job or anything, so it’s not like they’d care about me.”

Freedom became doubly thankful he’d left. He never even thought about it, but it made sense for the city officials to only keep track of those who benefited them. Once again, it was blatantly obvious how wrong the entire thing was. Still, he didn’t have the ability to fix all of Battery City at that moment, so he said, “There will be one for me.”

“True,” Sunny sighed. “I can take the thing in, though, an’ you just wait out here?” 

“No,” Freedom responded immediately. “It’s too dangerous, we don’t know if people are looking for you.”

“Dust was right, you really do act like our dad,” sighed Sunny. “Poison’ll have our throats if we don't do this. It’s better to just… y’know, I’ll be fine. Really.”

Free wasn’t reassured, but he was pretty sure they had no other choice. Sunny was right about Poison, and Freedom wouldn’t put it past them to do something crazy. Not after what had happened at the diner. He looked around for a moment, trying to find or think of another path, but he couldn’t. “Okay. Keep your hood up, try to talk in a low voice, don’t say anything identifying… you know the drill.”

Sunny nodded confidently. Free leaned against the side of the building and tried to look like a nobody. Maybe people would think he was a droid? He pulled his hands into his sleeves and hoped it would work well enough.

It took about ten minutes for Sunny to return- not long, not for the Tower of Doom, but it felt like an eternity. He whispered that he’d done it, and he hadn’t been recognized as far as he knew. Freedom decided to take him back as fast as possible, just to be safe.

“I’m never comin’ back to this stupid city after this,” declared Sunny, and Freedom nodded in agreement. There was something, something he had often wondered, but never spoken aloud. Not until now.

“Is there anything past the Zones, d’you think?”

Sunny gave him a look of surprise. “I’ve never really thought about it. They always said in those old propaganda videos, y’know, ‘a shining beacon in a wasteland of death’, but that could very well be a lie.”

“Yeah…” Free had an aching curiosity about it. That was the reason he had first gone into genetic engineering, because maybe he would be able to go out there to study. He had ended up stuck in a lab all day, though, which was just his luck. 

“Maybe after all this is done, we could go out there,” Sunny said. Free couldn’t tell whether he was joking or not. 

“Maybe,” seemed like a neutral enough response. He couldn’t think of what else to say, but it ended up not mattering. 

“Stop right there!” declared a voice behind them. Free turned so quickly he almost got whiplash. A vaguely familiar-looking boy was standing behind them. He sighed in relief. No one threatening, then. “I have to talk to you, know.”

“Why?” asked Free. At the same time, Sunny’s eyes lit up and he said, “Omen?”

Free got the sense he was the only one who didn’t know what was going on.

“Yes, it’s me, I gotta tell you something. Korse- you know, the murderous Scarecrow?- is going to kill the Fab Four on account of, they kidnapped a girl.” he pointed at Sunny. “Your sister.”

“What? He can’t do that.” Sunny sounded completely sure. “The Four are literally unstoppable, an’ he’s tried to get them before, an’ it hasn’t worked.”

Freedom didn’t like the kid, Omen. He had absolutely no idea who he was or what he wanted, or why Sunny was trusting every word he said. He didn’t like the fact that he was completely in the dark about it all when Sunny seemed to know so much. Maybe that was unfair, but he couldn’t care less about fairness when compared to safety.

“Who are you and how do you know all this?”

“I’m a juvie hall, I overheard it from the guards.” Omen’s eyes drifted exaggeratedly to the left. He was lying, and trying to make them think he was telling the truth. The vast majority of people in the city were not educated enough to know that you look to the right when you’re lying, and even fewer would be smart enough to purposefully glance the other way.

Instead of pointing all that out, Free simply said, “I know that’s not true. We don’t have the time to be having conversations with strangers.”

He turned heel and walked away, but Sunny wasn’t budging. “He is telling the truth, it’s the same thing he told me in the House of Wolves.”

Oh, so that was where Freedom knew him from. He wasn’t sure when he’d seen him in there, but that had to be it. He shrugged. “He’s lying. Really. I can tell you how I know later, but every second spent out here is a second we could be found.”

Sunny hesitated, and for a moment Freedom thought he would fight him. But then his shoulders slumped and he nodded. “I guess you’d know better than me.”  
The two men made to walk away, but Omen quickly stepped in front of them. “Wait! Wait, okay, I lied ‘bout being a juvie hall. But I’m telling the truth about your sister, Sunny, and I really have been all around looking for you.”

He wasn’t trying to trick them anymore, but that didn’t mean everything he said could be taken as gospel. Freedom briefly considered taking the boys to the storage place they had hidden in before, but he discarded the idea. Those two droids wouldn’t welcome intruders twice. Still, he couldn’t completely ignore what Omen was saying. He could tell the Four to keep an eye out for the girl once they got back. 

“You’ve got two minutes,” Sunny said while Freedom was thinking it over. He held in an impatient sigh. Maybe it would be better to have Sunny less conflicted. As long as Omen talked quickly. 

“Like I said. I’m not actually a juvie hall. I’m- well, listen, I’m like a double agent. But only for myself. I’m not like them, okay, you gotta know that-”

“Just say what you’re gonna say,” Free advised. “You only look more guilty the longer you obfuscate.”

“Fine. I’m a Scarecrow- or one in training, at least. You happy now?”

“Well,” Freedom said with a stunned smile, “there’s a lot to unpack there.”

“Fuck you, Vance,” Omen snapped defensively, and it hit Freedom where he knew him from. The most recent ‘Crow initiation ceremony, which Free had gone to to escape his office for a bit. Omen was in his second or third year of training, and if Free remembered correctly, he was the top of his class. 

“You’re doing an awful good job for a ‘double agent’,” said Freedom. He wanted to get the boy’s whole story, but he was too anxious to get out of the city to care very much about anything else. Whatever Omen’s deal was, it didn’t affect them enough for him to care.

Unfortunately, Sunny had other ideas. He demanded the whole story. Luckily- or maybe this was even worse- he reached out and grabbed Omen’s hand and said, “you could come with us. Out to the desert.”

“What?” said Omen. “no, I can’t.”

“If you’ve been a double agent this whole time, you could tell the ‘Joys how to avoid bein’ caught!” Sunny pleaded. “Come on.”

Freedom protested, “Wait, wait, if the Four got into this mess by abducting a child, is it a good idea for us to, in direct response, abduct _another_ child?”

“I want to,” Omen said clearly. “I do. But I need to stay here. I throw the ‘Crows off your tails, and see? Now that I can’t do that any more ‘cause Korse got fed up with it, I’m still trying to help! You can trust me.”

Freedom shook his head. He didn’t understand Omen’s motives at all. First he wanted to warn the Four, then he wanted Sunny to trust him? It seemed he was several layers deep in a conspiracy that he himself had woven.

“Thanks for the advice,” Freedom said. “We’ll let them know.”

Sunny gave Omen one last look, and then said, “I’ll come back for you.”

Not if Freedom could help it, but he didn’t say that. They walked away from Omen and back to the passage. Maybe Omen would report where it was. Maybe he was making up the whole thing. If Free was honest, and he tried to be, he had no idea. It was better safe than sorry, so he would tell the Four as soon as he saw them.   
“Do you think they’ll hurt Re- the Girl, I mean?” asked Sunny.

“Probably not, but we can make sure she’s safe. The desert is a big place. It shouldn’t be hard to get her somewhere secure.”

“Okay.” Sunny nodded. As they climbed out of the passage and into the cool desert air, Freedom noticed the new moon was hanging in the sky. He couldn’t remember whether that was good or bad in superstition, but he decided it was a positive sign.


	16. Twenty Minutes

“Hey, can you guys watch over Kobra?” Show Pony asked Ghoul and Jet as they approached. 

“Sure,” Ghoul responded. She was more than glad to see him and Poison back, seemingly unharmed. “You gonna go check out them gunshots?”

“Yeah.” Pony walked away. Ghoul smiled at Kobra in what she hoped was a comforting manner. She hadn’t had enough to do the last couple of days. All they- she and Jet, that was- had done was keep the Girl amused and wait anxiously for their friends’ return. Now they were here, though, all Ghoul could do was wonder where Free and Sunny were.

“Kobra…” she looked to Jet for help, but he was staring blankly at the table. One of those days, again, she supposed. She settled on asking, “what happened?”

What he told her was tired, and he finished by saying, “an’ everyone’s askin’ about it, and I really don’t wanna talk about it.”

Ghoul nodded sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

“S’okay, I guess you’re wantin’ to know where the newbies are. Me an’ Poison were waitin’ for them, but then…” he hesitated, looking embarrassed, before saying, “well, I got real sad about missin’ you guys… we really shouldn’ta left. If somethin’ went wrong with Free an’ Sunny it’ll be my fault. We left ‘em a note…” 

He looked so wretched that Ghoul couldn’t help but feel bad. It was probably fine. Sunny and Free were capable enough to handle themselves. They wouldn’t need help and Kobra was clearly very bothered; Ghoul wondered if he had had a panic attack like she did sometimes. She didn’t ask, though, only saying, “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“Yeah.” Kobra shrugged listlessly. He pointed at Poison as they strode into the diner, throwing dark looks at anyone whose eyes met theirs. They had an arm around Dust, who Ghoul saw was crying. “Wonder what happened there?”

The two disappeared upstairs. “I’ll ask later,” Ghoul promised. She didn’t want to push Poison’s boundaries. 

The three friends made small talk for a bit, trying to waste away the time. When fifteen minutes or so had passed, Ghoul went to investigate what was going on with Dust. She wasn’t surprised to see her and Poison with Harper. She was tossing and turning, talking to herself in her sleep. Poison smiled at Ghoul, but she knew it was fake. “Hey, darlin’, what’s up?”

“Everything… okay?” she asked tentatively.

“No,” they told her, “but when is it around here?”

“I’m sorry,” said Dust. “This is all my fault. If I coulda just kept my fuckin’ temper-”

“Don’t worry ‘bout what mighta happened if things went differently,” Poison admonished. “It ain’t gonna help anything. It’s not as bad as you’re paintin’ it, anyway.”  
Dust sniffled. Ghoul felt embarrassed to have caught her in such a vulnerable position. It didn’t strike her as being Dust’s natural disposition by a long shot. “I’m gonna make it right,” she promised in a quiet voice. “I gotta figure out what’s up with Harper first, but I’ll talk to Stitch, I’ll help them. I don’t know what I can do, but I’m gonna try.”

“Okay,” Poison comforted. “I’m sure you will.”

Ghoul pushed her revulsion down and patted Dust on the shoulder once. The quick contact made her skin turn to ice and her heart rise into her throat. Poison gave her a look of concern, but she thought she was okay. Still, she wouldn’t be trying that again any time soon. She pushed her disappointment in herself away and said, “yeah, long as you do your best. Just keep lookin’ forward.”

“Guess there ain’t anything else to do, huh?” Dust said with a bitter smile. 

“Yep.” The group was silent for a moment. Dust was reading a heavy old-looking medical book. She set it aside with a frustrated sigh.

“This stupid thing don’t have anything ‘bout amnesia and passing out bein’ in conjunction. I think the problem izzat she ain’t got the same sorta brain as the rest of us- don’t tell her that, though.” Dust shook her head. “I have no idea what to do-”

Suddenly, Harper’s body began to shake. Dust leaped to her feet, saying, “oh, an’ now she’s havin’ seizures?”

“What can we do?” asked Poison. Dust just shook her head. 

“There ain’t anything we _can_ do, not right now at least.” 

Ghoul squeezed her eyes shut, scared of what was about to happen. Please please please, she prayed, let it stop, let her be alright. 

Whoever was out there mustn’t have been listening to the end. Harper stopped seizing, but she lay limp with her head hanging to one side. Dust stepped forward and leaned over her, touching her fingers to Harper’s upper neck. Harper didn’t move. “Fuck, fuck, she doesn’t have a pulse… I’m doing CPR. If you two know anything that might help, I’d suggest you go an’ get it now!”

Poison gestured frantically at Ghoul, who followed them. It was too much of a stressful situation to ask questions. They said as they hurried away, “I know we got about 20 minutes at the most. You ‘member how the Girl was doin’ some magic stuff with her radio earlier?”

Ghoul gave them a look of exasperation. “She turned on a radio, she got some coordinates to play, that’s not bringin’ someone back to life!”

“Do you have a better idea?” Poison demanded, and Ghoul had to shake her head. “Fine, let's go find her then.” 

“She’s not at the diner any more! She went with Cola to the radio shack, we can’t get there an’ back in time-” 

“We sure as fuck can try, come on!” Ghoul ran after them out the door. They tossed themself into the Trans Am, barely giving her time to shut the door before zooming off. She didn’t mind, though. Poison tapped their hand impatiently on the wheel. Ghoul wanted to say something but she didn’t know what she would say.   
The trip took too long. Normally the radio shack was fifteen minutes away- this time it was ten. Ghoul ran mental calculations as she hauled ass inside. Even if they were able to get back in the same amount of time it would be too late. That was all assuming the Girl could even revive Harper, which was far from a given!

“Hey, Poison, Ghoul, what’s-”

“Where’s the Girl, we need her, a life is on the line!” Poison would normally never interrupt Dr. D, so he immediately knew the severity of the situation. The Girl herself crawled out from under his desk where she had been apparently sitting quite contentedly. Ghoul envied that simple ability, to be in a confined space without actually thinking you were going to die. She snapped back into focus when Poison said, “great, thanks.”

Ghoul grabbed the Girl’s radio on her way out.

As they drove back, even faster than before- eight minutes left- Ghoul told the Girl exactly what they needed her to do. She gazed up at the ‘Joy with wide eyes, and Ghoul had to hope she understood what was happening.

One minute when they got back to the diner. Forty seconds as they ran inside. Ten seconds were wasted when Poison tripped over a table and had to claw themself to their feet. Twenty seconds as they ran up the stairs. Ten when they burst into the room.

The Girl picked her radio up and held it against her chest. A song started playing out of it, one that Ghoul didn’t recognize. She and Poison looked to Dust, who once again reached to take Harper’s pulse. 

And then a wind picked up in the room, slight at first, but soon enough to slam the door shut. Ghoul shuddered, thinking that the whole roof might collapse onto them. She crouched to the ground, covering her head like when she was in school and they had an earthquake drill. The sound of the music got louder and louder until it was nearly unbearable. Whatever the Girl was doing was definitely working. 

Harper lifted into the air, eyes flying open, and then she was dropped back down. The wind stopped blowing, the music quieted, and Ghoul stood up shakily.  
Harper sat up and said in a quiet voice, “Wh-what’s going on?”

No one responded for a moment. Ghoul was too shocked to say anything. She figured the others were thinking the same. The Girl had walked away from her radio, and was standing near Poison, looking afraid. Great, so even she didn’t know what had just happened.

It was Poison who finally broke the silence. “We have to get the Girl somewhere safe. This-” they gestured around the room- “ain’t somethin’ that everyone should have access to, or even know ‘bout.”

“What happened?” repeated Harper. “I- I’m cold.”

Poison went to comfort her, telling her it was going to be okay. Ghoul was sure they didn’t believe it- she didn’t. Whatever the Girl had done, they had no idea how or why or even _what_ it was. 

Poison went to get Harper a cup of water, and when they returned, they brought Kobra and Jet along with them. Dust, who looked ready to collapse on her feet, said, “If you guys have got this, I’m gonna go find Stitch.”

“It’s late, you should get some rest first-” Poison started. Dust interrupted them with a wave of her hand. 

“I ain’t gonna sleep until I’ve done what I can. I’ve made my bed an’ now I’m lyin’ in it.” she walked away, and Ghoul could only hope she would be okay.  
“We need to get the Girl somewhere she won’t get hurt.” Or hurt someone else, but Ghoul didn’t say that. She could explain later, when Harper wasn’t there. Finding out you literally died would be pretty traumatic for a child. 

“Poison, I saw something…” Harper whispered as she took a sip of water with trembling hands.

“What was it?” asked Poison attentively.

“A floating person, in black and wearing a mask… she said it was time to go… an’ then when the Girl came in, something changed and she said I had to come back. So…” she shrugged. “I did.” 

Jet shook his head. “What?”

Kobra laughed, lighting up. “She saw the Phoenix Witch, Jet, you can’t deny that.” 

“I…” Jet shrugged. Ghoul wondered whether he would start believing in her or not. Either way, it didn’t really matter. As long as he was happy. She interjected into the conversation before he could start breaking it down too much.

“Well, let’s figure out what to do next.”


	17. Beloved Husband

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hollow Stitch wished her life was simpler. In some ways, she was lucky, but today seemed to highlight the ways she wasn't.

Hollow Stitch had been in a lot of interesting situations in her life. She was almost 30 years old and lived in the Zones- you don’t get that far without going through some weird shit. Still, this had to be the oddest thing that had occurred to her. A sixteen year old girl had killed her husband and was now crying on her front door.   
What exactly was she supposed to do next?

The worst part of the whole situation was, she couldn’t exactly be mad at Dust. OJ wasn’t a perfect husband by any means, and Stitch had had a gun to her temple thanks to him more than once. Still, he was a good father, and he kept the Angels relatively out of trouble. It was complicated.

“Well, come inside, at least,” she said to Dust. She obviously wasn’t expecting the invitation, but she accepted it without question. Now Stitch just had to decide what she wanted to do.

“You’re in charge of the Angels now, right?” Dust asked her.

“Yeah, I am,” Stitch said slowly. She knew Dust had an agenda- any smart ‘Joy always had a goal in mind. For that reason, she didn’t want to let too much slip.  
“You still gonna keep them around?” asked Dust in an innocent voice.

“What else would I do?” 

“Well… it’s just… are you sure you wanna have their reputation behind you?” Dust shrugged. “Ain’t no one who likes you right now.”

Stitch slammed a hand on the table, making Dust jump. “The Angels are hated because of you, dumbass! This is your fault, not mine.” 

Dust swallowed. The few other people inside the club gave them sideways looks. Maybe Stitch was being too harsh. She wanted to get the message across, however, so she gave them all death glares and continued, “If you think you’ve got some get outta jail free card all of a sudden, you’ve gone crazy. You’re gonna fix this mess, so help me god.”

Dust didn’t yell, or get mad- well, if she were mad, Stitch didn’t see it. She just stayed slouched in her seat and said, “You’re really sure you want me ‘round here.”

Stitch didn’t know what to say to that. No, she didn’t want Dust around. She was the definition of a liability. But letting her go would be giving her what she wanted, and if there was one thing that would piss off OJ in the afterlife, it was that.

“I’m doin’ what I gotta,” was what she settled for saying. Dust laughed.

“So no. You’re just gonna keep me here ‘cause you’re too stubborn to do anythin’ else.” 

Stitch had been speaking to Dust for a total of fifteen minutes, at most, and she could see how the bitch had made OJ so annoyed all the time. She wasn’t anything more than a smug child. Stitch certainly didn’t want to deal with her any longer.

Dust leaned forward and held out a silver coin. “How ‘bout this. I flip a coin, we call it in the air. If I win, I get to finally get outta this shithole.”

Stitch could see so many ways this could go wrong, but she didn’t see any other solution. She was pretty sure Dust would break down if she rejected her idea, anyway. She nodded and replied, “If I win, you gotta stay in the Angels for life-”

“Figured-”

“And you gotta be in charge.”

Dust gave her a look of confusion. “Wait, what? Why?”

“I do in fact have a child to take care of.” Stitch still had to break the news to Val. He would be… mad, to say the least. It would be lucky if he didn’t break anything; he’d inherited his father’s violent tendencies.

“Oh.” Dust sat back. 

“Not to worry, when you’re hangin’ out here, I’ll make sure you get to babysit,” Stitch said wryly. 

“You gotta win first.” Dust held the coin out. “Ready?” 

Stitch waved a hand at her. She flipped the coin, calling out, “heads!” as it fell. She neatly caught it and flipped it over on her hand, revealing the tails side.

“Two out of three,” Dust immediately insisted. Stitch nodded, not caring enough to fight it. This time, she took the initiative and said, “Tails.”

The coin landed heads side up. They were tied. Stitch was a bit annoyed, only because she actually was beginning to care about whether she won or not. It would be utterly aggravating for her to lose, now that Dust had already stolen from her once. She wouldn’t let her take this, too, however meaningless it may be.   
The third toss, she stood up physically and said, “tails!”

Please, please, please, she thought, not even knowing why it mattered so much, but it did. She watched as Dust caught the coin, flipped it over onto the back of her palm, and…

It was heads.

“Gee, what was it you were sayin’ about babysittin’?” Dust said triumphantly. “See ya later, Stitch. Well, actually, hope I won’t.”

She strolled out of the club. Stitch flipped her off, although she couldn’t see it. Whatever. She was a busy woman, she had shit to do. She grabbed OJ’s mask, which she had taken from him back at the diner, and went to go find her son.

Luckily, Val liked Club Borealis enough that he hung around it pretty consistently. He was sitting in the corner and drinking a can of pop. When Stitch walked over, her oh-so-faithful child greeted her with, “What d’ya want, Mom?”

Stitch had always thought the moody phase started at thirteen. Well, he was only a month out from that. Anyway, she should probably get the news out of the way. She might have had mixed feelings about him, but Val looked at his dad through rose tinted glasses. 

“We need to talk.”

“What is it?” he asked monotonously.

“It’s about OJ.” How to say this best?

“Oh!” he brightened up and looked around, and Stitch’s heart twisted. “Where is he? Is he gonna come and pick me up? Will he take me shootin’?”

“No, sweetheart… Dad’s not comin’ home. He’s… gone.” 

Val didn’t pretend to not know what she meant. His expression turned to one of horror. “What? No, how?”

Val might have only been grabbing the edge of thirteen, but he was almost as tall as Stitch, and at least as strong as her. It was what happened to kids who were raised in the Zones. She wanted to be careful. “A lot of people didn’t like him. It was only a matter of time.”

“Mom…” 

“Come on, we need to drop this-” she held OJ’s mask up- “into a mailbox so the Witch will take him onward. You comin’ with me or what?”

“Yeah.” he slid out of the chair, face dark and fist clenched. As they went to Stitch’s vehicle, he threw his can of pop against the wall. They were close to a mailbox, and when they climbed out at it, Stitch passed him the mask. 

“So I just… put it inside? And that’s it?” Val asked dubiously. Stitch was harshly reminded that he’d never really experienced death before, and she fought to keep her calm demeanor.

“Yeah, that’s it,” she gently prompted. 

“Okay…” he did as she told him, before stepping back. He rested his head on Stitch’s shoulder and she squeezed his hand in sympathy. Zones kids grew up too fast.

“He’ll be better in the next life,” Stitch said. “Happier, stronger…” 

“Less annoyed?” Val asked. Stitch couldn’t help but laugh. She supposed he had seen how OJ acted around her and the other Angels. Val was walking a fine line between child and adult. She hoped he would choose one side or the other soon. It was dangerous to live the way he did. He might get into trouble.

Stitch and Val went back after a little. As they were in the car, Val said, “Was it someone he trusted?”

Stitch responded honestly. “I’m not sure if he trusted them. He’s gone now, though, an’ all we can do is-”

“Move on. Keep running. I know.” he didn’t seem too happy about it. Stitch threw her hands up, pretending to be exasperated but really just wanting to understand.   
“What else can we do?” she asked. “An’ don’t answer that, it’s rhetorical.”

“Sure,” was all he responded with. When they arrived back at the club, two kids were waiting for him. Stitch vaguely knew their parent, but other than that, she had no idea who they were. 

“What are your names?” she asked the kids.

“Vayos and Vama!” one of them responded, and the other nodded. They were definitely twins, but she couldn’t tell anything about them other than that. 

“We’re gonna start runnin’ together when we’re older,” the twin who hadn’t spoken said. Val elbowed them.

“You weren’t supposed to tell her, geez…” he began to playfully argue with his friends about it as Stitch laughed. She was proud of him for dealing with it so well. He didn’t seem to be that bothered at all. That might have been a bad thing, but Stitch was going to take it as a sign that he was more mature than she thought.  
“Hey, uh, Miss Val’s mom?” asked one of the twins.

“Yeah? You can call me Stitch.” 

“Can you help us plan for when we get bigger?” they asked. Val glanced off to the side, clearly not as on board with this plan as the other two. Still, any time Stitch could spend with him was time well spent, in her opinion. If OJ’s death had taught her anything, it was that you never know when you’re gonna get ghosted.

“Sure I can.”


	18. Her Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Girl just wants people to stop asking her to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pieced together some of the Na Na Na music video for the plot of this chapter, if for whatever reason you haven't seen it... shame on you. Look it up and watch it.

The Girl knew she’d done something wrong by saving her friend. After all, Poison and Ghoul were talking about taking her somewhere safe- for her and other people. The problem was, she didn’t know _how_ she’d woken Harper up. All she had done was follow her instincts. She wasn’t sure if it could even count as instincts, it was more like… a guardian angel or something. Whatever had happened, she was glad Harper wasn’t dead anymore, and whether she’d been using something dangerous or not, she would do it again. 

“What’re we gonna do?” asked Kobra worriedly. 

“Take her out into the desert?” suggested Ghoul. 

Poison touched the Girl’s shoulder, whether to comfort or restrain her she wasn’t sure. “We ain’t just gonna abandon the kid.”

The Girl wished they would stop talking about her like she wasn’t there. Maybe if she said something, they’d stop, but she couldn’t do that. It was better to just… deal with it than to break her silence, because that would be violating what dad had told her. 

“No one’s sayin’ we’re gonna _abandon_ her, Pois.” Kobra gave the Girl a long, conflicted look. “But-”

“Anytime you’re sayin’ ‘I’m not gonna drop the kid all alone, _but_ ’ is a time you should stop talkin’, little bro.” Poison was definitely trying to comfort her. It would mean more if she’d never been uncertain in the first place. 

“So what’s your plan?” asked Jet. He was still recovering from Harper’s revival. The Girl wanted to sit with Harper, but she knew that when you were the most feared person in the room, sudden moves were a bad idea. 

“Take her into the desert, but stay with her, of course,” Poison said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. The Girl had no idea what they were going to do until they said it, although she didn’t know them as well as the others. Maybe it was apparent to the Four. 

They went to the main area of the diner, and the Girl was hit with the strange sense that she would never see it again. She shook it off as her nerves getting to her. The Four weren’t that concerned, at least, with Jet mentioning that he wanted a new blaster. When the Girl asked him how he got one of those, he said, “We’ll show ya.”

Before they left, unfortunately, they had to eat something. ‘Something’ in the desert referred to Pup Power, a dish the Girl had yet to acquire a taste for. Judging from the way her friends choked it down, they were about as on board with it as she was. 

“Hey, so what’s one thing you guys wanna do before you die?” asked Kobra.

“Liberate Battery City,” Poison responded immediately.

“Geez, Poison, why doncha dream big, huh?” Ghoul laughed. 

“Hey, go big or go home, right?” Poison joked. “Why’d you even ask, Kobes? Plannin’ on dyin’ soon?”

“No, ‘course not, just tryna make small talk.” Kobra leaned forward. “I wanna meet someone who’s related to me who ain’t Poison.”

“I’d like to see my cousin again,” Jet said. “Although I’m pretty sure she got ghosted a few months ago.”

The Girl knew what she wanted; to have people stop telling her to talk. It had definitely gotten better since she came to the Zones, to the point where she didn’t bother going to look for a piece of paper to write it down on. 

“I wanna get over my touch issues,” Ghoul declared.

“Ghoul-” Poison started to say.

“It wasn’t always like this. If I started out fine I can go back to that,” she insisted. The Girl wasn’t sure that was how it worked, but she would have time to learn.

“We should get goin’,” Jet suggested, and the others agreed. They went to the garage out back where the Poison had actually remembered to put the Trans Am, instead of leaving it out like they normally did. The Girl wasn’t sure why they all wore cool clothes to go driving around, but she liked it way better than the city clothing.

They got into the car and peeled out into the desert. Poison seemed to have a general sense of where they were going. “Turn on the fuckin’ radio!” Ghoul said, so they turned into Dr. D’s radio station. 

“Look alive, sunshine…” 

He always spoke almost in code during his shows. The Girl couldn’t decide whether it was just a quirk or actually had a point. 

They were zooming along at a fast speed, the Girl having an excellent time as she jammed out to the music playing, when a car pulled up behind them. Poison yelled, “Maybe it’s a friendly face?”

Two dracs leaned out either side and started shooting at them. “Definitely not friendly!” Jet called back, and he and Ghoul stood and began shooting back. The Girl looked back, too, and that was when she saw him. Korse, the Scarecrow, was coming after them as well. 

Kobra took a gun that looked like it had been supersized and handed it to her. “You know how to shoot this?” he asked.

The Girl shook her head. 

“Well, time for you to learn,” he said. He showed her how to aim and steadied her by putting his hands on her shoulders. 

BAM!

It was so much heavier and louder than she’d imagined… and so much more fun! She laughed. They should get into car chases more often!

The huge bullet- more like a cannonball, really- she shot hit the ground in front of the BLi car, breaking the cement to the point where they had to swerve to a stop. The Killjoys laughed, yelled, and made gestures at the dracs, quickly pulling out of sight. 

They were far enough away that they wouldn’t be seen when Poison stopped the car behind a boulder where it hopefully wouldn’t be seen. They climbed out, saying, “We can’t keep goin’, they’ll keep lookin’ for us. The good news is, there’s a bomb bunker and it ain’t too far away. Bad news-” they pulled a huge blue mask shaped like an animal head out of the trunk- “it’s in the middle of a buncha toxic gas.”

The others had masks- ones to protect them, not the decorative ones they normally wore- in the Trans Am, and there was an extra one laying around the Girl could use, much to her relief. She knew that her inability to speak was caused by her mom taking in gas, and that was only indirect exposure. It was bad stuff, that was for sure.

They were safe for the first twenty seconds of walking, then dracs started shooting from all sides and it was apparent that they weren’t safe by a long shot. The girl couldn’t do anything other than hold her gas mask to her mouth and hope she wasn’t shot.

The draculoids lined up in a row, raising their guns in a synchronous motion and pointing them at the ‘joys. Korse stepped to the front and levied his blaster at them, ordering, “Get her.”

Before the girl could even think of moving, she was dragged forward by two dracs and was taken. 

Korse grabbed the Girl tightly, holding her captive. She might have been able to struggle out of his grasp, but the fact that he was holding a gun to her head was rather dissuasive. She couldn’t think of anything to do other than comply. Korse gave a satisfied smirk to Poison, who was probably not moving to help her for the same reason. 

“Keep running,” Korse hissed. He dragged her off, the dracs pointing their blasters at her Killjoy friends. She was pushed into a white car with a BLi logo on the front, because of course there was one. 

They drove to Battery City, inside the gates, and into the SCARECROW Headquarters. The Girl was pulled into a sleek elevator. There were no numbers on the wall, nor did Korse push any buttons. They flew upwards so fast it was impossible for the Girl to tell what floor they were at, not that the information would be useful to her anyway.

They ended up in a large white room with scary-looking machinery in the corner. There was a hospital bed under the machinery. The Girl looked everywhere else, although she had a sneaking suspicion that it would be used against her if she didn’t do what she was told. 

“State your full name,” a robotic voice said from somewhere above her. The Girl ignored it, because if they knew anything about her at all they wouldn’t have asked that.

“State your full name,” it repeated. She glanced up this time, vaguely annoyed now that her heart rate had gone down slightly.

“State your full name,” it said again. The Girl frowned. Was it broken? The voice continued to tell her the same thing over and over again. She looked around the room, ignoring it. There were no windows and the door blended perfectly into the wall. She wasn’t sure where it even was. 

The voice was beginning to get annoying.

The Girl wasn’t sure how much time passed before she was completely fed up with it. At first it hadn’t bothered her, but it had bounced around in her skull until she felt ready to explode. She looked around the room but there was nothing, not even to write with. So she did something she hadn’t attempted since she was seven years old.

The Girl attempted to speak. 

She opened her mouth and tried to form the words the way she’d seen her brother and her friends do. She had never been able to speak. It was a fact she’d accepted a while ago. But now she had to or she would literally go insane. She tried to push the R sound out, as much as she knew how, but she didn’t make a sound. She threw up her hands, trying to say, _what did you expect?_

Two draculoids came in and tried to grab her again, but she drew away from them. They pointed their clean white blasters at her instead, so she walked with her head high as she was pointed to another room.

She found herself in an office style place, where a woman was standing. She wore a business suit and kept looking at her watch. When the girl was forced into her room, she gave her a look of intense displeasure. 

“Good, she’s here.” the woman crouched down to the Girls eye level and smiled condescendingly. Thankfully, the draculoids walked away. At least she wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore. 

“Do you know your name?” the woman asked. “My name is Madame Director. All good children know their name.”

The Girl nodded. She was scared, and she could only hope Poison was coming to save her. She had no idea what was going to happen. 

“Well, tell me then. I haven’t got all day.”

Despite her fear, she couldn’t help being annoyed. Madame Director was the same as the robotic voice, only she couldn’t be bothered to sound happy. 

“Very well then.” the Director turned away. She began talking on a cell phone, ordering someone to “take care of this mess”. The Girl shivered in fear. 

Madame Director put the phone in her pocket and said pointedly, “We’ll fix you up into a normal talking girl. It won’t hurt that bad.”

The Girl tried to step away but there was nowhere for her to go. She was pretty sure whatever they were planning on doing, it would definitely hurt her.


	19. Afterlife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poison was willing to sacrifice anything for the Girl, which is good, because they ended up giving her everything they had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, Sing to follow Na Na Na! Almost done, folks!

Poison fought off the urge to chase after their retreating enemies. They couldn’t do anything, they knew they couldn’t do anything, and it was the worst feeling on earth.

They ran with the Four back to the Trans Am. As soon as it was safe, they ripped off their mask and said, “We gotta save her.”

“Of course,” said Ghoul. “I ain’t seen that many dracs at once for as long as I can remember.”

“Me either…” Poison wondered how things could have gone so wrong, so fast. They weren’t used to BLi getting the jump on them. The Four would save the girl, though, and everything would be fine. They had to believe that or they would go insane.

“How are we gonna get to her?” Kobra asked. “Shouldn’t we chase after them?”

“I dunno to the first question, no to the second. There’re too many for us to take on right now,” Poison told him regretfully. 

They hurried back to the diner, since it was the closest Killjoy settlement.. Poison wanted to go after her immediately, but they knew they needed advice if they were going to save the Girl before it was too late. 

The Four had barely gotten in the door when Sunny and Freedom came up to them, breathless. Free started saying, “Korse is coming for the Girl, and he’s bringing backup-”

“We know,” Poison said regretfully. “We were out with her when they showed up.”

“Where is she then?” asked Sunny. Poison was suddenly reminded of the fact that they were siblings. 

“They got her, but don’t get too worried, ‘cause we’re gonna rescue her,” Kobra quickly promised. Sunny took a few steps forward, but Freedom grabbed his arm.   
“We knew this might happen.”

Sunny bit his lip. After a long moment of hesitation, he nodded. “I know you guys work best together, so I’m not gonna ask if I can come, but you gotta promise to bring her back as soon as she’s safe.”

“We will,” Poison agreed. “D’ya know where Dr. D is? He knows more ‘bout gettin’ into Bat City than anyone else.”

“You’ve been there before,” Freedom pointed out.

“Yeah, but I’m damn sure they took her back to the ‘Crow HQ, an’ that’s a hell of a lot harder to break into than just the city.”

Once he knew the severity of the situation, Dr. Death had only one piece of advice. “You’re gonna go in there, guns blazin’, ‘cause you ain’t gettin’ into the Scarecrow unit any other way.”

“You know you might not be gettin’ outta there, right?” Dr. D said. “Ain’t no ‘Joy who tried to break into the Crow Unit an’ survived.”

“That don’t matter,” Poison insisted. “As long as we save the Girl. Witch knows what they’re gonna do to her.”

Dr. D nodded, somewhat reluctantly. Poison looked at his friends, the reality setting in. Jet, Ghoul, and Kobra looked grim, but none of them were stepping away. It hit Poison that the Four were willing to die for this. They just hoped none of them would have to. The possibility was too real, though, so they asked, “Can you come an’ get her? Just in case?”

Dr. Death agreed to do that, so without any reason not to, the Four set off. They drove the Trans Am right through the tunnel into the city, going too fast to be stopped. They parked in an alleyway where the car wouldn’t be found. No reason to lose it. Poison drew their blaster as they stormed down the bridge to the tall building. They knew the Girl would be there. There wasn't any other place to keep her, not when they probably wanted info on the Killjoys. 

“Hey, ain’t that the girl?” Ghoul asked as xe pointed to a window. Squinting their eyes, Poison saw a small face pressed against it. Xe was right, it was her.  
“I think so,” they said. “Let’s go an’ get her, then!”

They burst inside, guns blazing, and hurried through the cold white hallways into the room Ghoul had seen the girl in. She was there, thank god. Poison didn’t hesitate to collapse onto the ground and hug her.

“They hurt me,” she whispered, crying a little, and their heart was turned to ice. 

Poison pointed their blaster at the dracs as they ran out, keeping the Girl close to them. It seemed right when they solved the mystery about one tortured child, Battery City made another. It was so fucked up. _Once we get outta here, I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again_ , Poison vowed to themself.  
Before they could get far back to the Trans Am, the Four were surrounded by dracs. Poison gave a call of alarm as they started being shot at, Korse himself come to play as well. Dr. D’s warning echoed in Poison’s head. 

“No, you can’t ghost us!” Kobra yelled. Poison shouted in agreement. They pushed the Girl to the ground so she wouldn’t get hit by any stray blasts before throwing themself into the fight. 

Korse grabbed Poison, holding them by their neck and shoving them against the wall. They struggled against his grasp, and he leaned forward and whispered, “When you left, no one looked for you. They looked for Kobra, but not for you.”

Poison froze in shock, and Korse pressed his blaster against their neck and pulled the trigger. Poison felt a moment of blinding pain, then a strange sense of peace washed over them. They saw Ghoul give them a frantic, broken look, and they smiled at xem. Xe would be okay. 

Poison’s eyes slid shut as they let go. They expected to drift away, but instead, they found themself floating… up.

_Poison was suddenly standing out in the desert. They looked around, wondering just what had happened. They were dead, right? Ghosted by those dracs. They recognized the scenery around them- they were near a mailbox close to the city. It was the place where they had met Jet… and Ghoul too, now they thought about it. The sun was setting, with the sky turning red and pink, aside from the white and purple streaked clouds. It was quite a lovely scene. That was what made them suspicious._

_“What’s going on?” they asked aloud. A woman suddenly appeared before them, smiling wryly._

_“You know, don’t you, Party Poison?”_

_“No-” and then it hit them, and they almost laughed. “Wait, are you the Phoenix Witch?”_

_She nodded. “I am.”_

_“Okay…” Poison got the sense that they’d have to ask exactly for what they wanted to know. As much as ‘life, the universe, and everything’ would be nice to understand, they had more pressing matters. “What’s happenin’ to the Girl and the Four? Are they okay?”_

_The Witch looked at her wrist, although she wasn’t wearing a watch. Poison thought she might be making fun of them. “You’ll have plenty of time to find out.”  
They were slightly annoyed by then. They just wanted to know if their friends were alive. “I don’t care if you’re some sorta all powerful god figure or whatever, either let me move on, or let me see what’s happenin’ with my friends!”_

_“Well,” the Witch sighed, “because you asked so nicely… I’ll send you to see. Soon. But first, I want you to understand something. You’re dead; that much is obvious. But you won’t be able to get to the next life until your mask is put in a mailbox.”_

_That was probably supposed to mean more to Poison than it did. “So, we did end up gettin’ it right, huh?”_

_“I suppose so.” she gave another smile, more mysterious this time. “You will be in the desert for a while before you move on.”_

_“I’ll keep it in mind.” they didn’t care about that much. The desert was a big place. Surely it wouldn’t be that boring. “Can I go back now?”_

_“My, aren’t you impatient?”_

She waved a hand in their direction, and they were thrown back to the fight. It was the same exact moment they’d gotten ghosted. Poison’s first instinct was to reach for their blaster, but they didn’t have it any more. They didn’t seem to have a body anymore, at all, and it was rather unnerving. 

“What the-” Poison spun in a circle, trying to get their bearings, when they saw themself slumped against a wall. Definitely dead, then, and also a ghost. 

Poison could only watch what happened next. They sat helplessly as Ghoul was shot falling to the ground. They half-hoped xe would be able to talk to them, but xe didn’t show up. The Girl, Kobra, and Jet started running for the door. As Poison’s little brother reached for the door, he was shot in the leg. He collapsed as Poison gave a cry of protest. 

They ran- walked? floated?- outside where, as promised, Dr. D was waiting in the van. He flung the door open and held a hand out to the Girl. Jet shoved her in, slamming the door closed before he was also gunned down, these bullets piercing his shoulder and chest. 

The only reason Poison didn’t collapse was because they saw the Girl get into the van and drive away safely. She would be okay, at least from that danger.

Poison stared at the van speeding into the distance. From what the Witch had told them, they knew they’d be around for a while. Hopefully they would be able to help the Girl, or at least watch over her. Maybe they would see other things too, other people and places that they’d never visit in life. 

Things were pretty bad. They had to admit that. Their friends were ghosted and they had no way to contact them or anyone else, and they were promised that it would be like this for a while. But they wouldn’t despair, and they wouldn’t waste their time. 

They decided to do what they could, until they were taken away, to keep their Girl safe.


	20. Into the Wilderness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was no way for the 'Joys to move on from the Four, and yet, somehow they had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not crying, you are.
> 
> But seriously, I probably learned more from this fic than anything else, and I loved writing it. To anyone reading this, thank you for putting up with my inconsistent uploads lmao. And thank you for supporting me, it really means a lot <3
> 
> For the last time, enjoy, folks!

Sunny sat in the diner for god-knows-how-long, waiting for his sister to come back. Fearing that she wouldn’t come back at all. Free and Harper tried their best to comfort him, but only seeing the Girl live and in the flesh would make him feel better.

“They’ll be alright,” Harper said, but she was too young to be a good liar. Sunny could see her concern clearly on her face. Freedom was harder to read, but he’d never struck Sunny as an idiot, and you’d have to be stupid to think such a reckless attack would work.

“Sure,” he said anyway, just to make her feel better.

The door was flung open and Sunny jumped to his feet. The Girl was there! He ran over and hugged his sister tightly, relieved beyond measure. Dr. D and Show Pony were there, too, but the Four were suspiciously absent. “Where’s the rescue crew?” asked Harper.

Pony and Dr. D exchanged glances. Pony spoke slowly, telling them, “They didn't make it.”

“No… you’re kiddin’, right?” asked Cherri Cola as he walked over. “Kobra musta put you up to this…”

Dr D shook his head. “They gave everythin’ to keep her-” he patted the Girl on her shoulder- “safe.”

Sunny shook his head in shock. He couldn’t believe it. The Four couldn’t die. That was impossible. The Fabulous Four were immovable as boulders, staples of the desert that would never go away. But now…

The Girl stepped away from him and he saw that she was crying, and that was when he realized it was true.

“It was my fault,” she said. “If they never caught me then none of this would have happened. I’m sorry.”

Sunny dropped onto his knees and touched her arm. “Since when-”

She gave a crumpled kind of gasp and he shook his head. “Never mind. It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, there’s no reason this would be your fault.” Freedom said grimly. 

“I can’t believe… part of me thought they couldn’t die.” Cherri rubbed his hand against his eyes. He was trying not to show it, but Sunny could see that he was crying. He was right, too, the Four were almost immortal in Sunny’s mind. Until, suddenly, they weren’t. 

“I’m sorry.” the Girl said again. She seemed so scared and broken… Sunny wanted to be able to tell her that everything would be okay, but he knew it wasn’t. She wouldn’t believe him, anyway. If there was one thing he’d learnt from the Four, it was that there was no use in sugarcoating things. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” was the only thing he could think to say. “Really, you gotta stop saying and thinking that, it doesn’t do anythin’ helpful.”

She nodded, but he had no idea if she was actually listening or not. He looked helplessly at Freedom, but he was staring off into the distance, looking quite out of it.  
Luckily, Dust chose that moment to walk back inside. “Sorry I took so long- hey, what’s goin’ on?”

Dr. D told her exactly what he had told them. She shook her head, as surprised as the rest of them. “Poison always said that Killjoys never die,” she muttered, face dark. “Fat lotta good that did them.”

“They won’t die,” said Cola. “Not really. We’ll keep ‘em alive. Keep talkin’ about them, stuff like that. Make sure the Four ain’t forgotten.”

Sunny liked the idea well enough, but he couldn’t help but get the feeling of being an outsider, now more than ever before in the desert. The other Killjoys knew the Four, but while he considered them friends, the fact was that he’d only known them for less than a month. It wasn’t the same, and he was all too aware of it.

“What are we gonna do without them?” asked the Girl bitterly. “I don’t wanna be a Killjoy if Poison… an’, an’ Ghoul, and Kobra, and Jet too, all of them, I don’t wanna do it if they aren’t here.”

“We gotta keep going,” Sunny told her. “We can’t just give up.” 

“I know. Keep running,” she whispered. Sunny got the feeling it was a catchphrase of some sort, but he’d never heard it before. That outsider feeling came back harder than before. “You’re right, Sunny, I didn’t mean what I said before. I wanna be a Killjoy. I knew them pretty good. I can tell their stories.”

Sunny nodded. He wished he’d come sooner to the desert. As it was, he didn’t know what to do next. The Girl began talking to Cola, and Sunny was pulled aside by Freedom, who said, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t quite know how to go on as it is now.”

Somehow, Sunny knew exactly what his unclear statement meant. He responded, “yeah, I’m not sure this is right anymore. What else is there, though? Whatever this wrongness is, it isn’t as bad as the city.”

“Do you remember, right before we ran into Omen in the city, I said I wanted to see what’s past Zone 6?” 

Sunny did remember. It was a fascinating concept, and he would love to find out, but… “I can’t go outta here. I got the Girl to look after, remember?”

Free nodded regretfully. “Yes, of course.”

Sunny felt bad- god, he felt terrible about it- but he wanted to go out on this random adventure they hadn’t thought through at all. He didn’t want to take care of his sister, that was so boring. He wanted to get to go somewhere far away.

“What are y’all talkin’ about?” asked Dust, walking up to them. Sunny explained to her the whole idea, as well as his dilemma. As he did so, he glanced at the Girl to make sure she didn’t hear what he was saying, but she was still distracted by the other ‘Joys. Dust didn’t seem nearly as concerned about it as he was. “Just ask someone else to handle her. It ain’t like she’s in diapers, she can take care of herself pretty well. An’ look around! Everyone here loves her. It wouldn’t be too bad.”

“Why are you trying to convince me so much?” Sunny asked. “You got an ulterior motive or something?”

“Well…” Dust shrugged. “I mighta fixed up the thing with the Angels, but there are still a lotta people out there who are pissed at me over it. I could get myself into more sticky situations pretty damn easily at this point.”

Sunny laughed a little. She seemed back to her usual self. “Well, I can think about it…” 

“How ‘bout this?” suggested Free. “We could ask Dr. Death if there’s any way to get you some sort of transmission radio. It’s pretty obvious that the Girl would be able to get any signals we send out.” 

It sounded like a solid idea to Sunny, so he agreed. He hadn’t realized it until that moment, but Free and Dust were two of his closest friends at this point. They’d been through thick and thin together, especially him and Free. He’d never really trusted anyone the way he trusted them, either. Maybe it was stupid, he wasn’t knowledgeable enough in the realm of friendship to know for sure.

“Hey, Dr. D,” he said, “do you happen to have, like, a radio I could talk through? Or a walkie talkie or something like that?” 

“Back at the radio shack, you bet your ass,” he said. “What do you want it for?”

He took a long breath. “I need to talk to the Girl before anything else.”

He took his sister outside. She was looking at him with a tense expression. He guessed it was pretty obvious that something was up. He didn’t try to hide it, getting straight to the point. “I’m not feelin’ so good about bein’ a Killjoy. I think I need to… take another path.”

The Girl didn’t start crying, but she looked close to it. “Sunny-” she glanced around, then said, “Engel. Are you gonna go back to the city? It ain’t safe.”

God, it was weird to have her talking. It made more sense now, how worried she was. “No, ‘course not. Me an’ Free an’ Dust, we’re gonna go out to the east. Past Zone 6.”

“Oh!” the Girl brightened up considerably. “That sounds dangerous, but at least you’re not goin’ back… there.”

“Right. I wanna go to the wilderness, like I said, but I ain’t gonna go unless you’re okay with it.” another thought occurred to him, so he added, “and if you wanna come too, I’m sure Free would be fine with it.”

The Girl nodded. Sunny wished he wasn’t making such a young kid choose between such different paths, but he knew he’d never be happy with himself if he didn’t go with his friends. 

“I ain’t leavin’,” she said. “I really like it here. But it’s okay if you wanna go. I’ll be okay without you.”

Sunny nodded. He gave her another hug. “I’m gonna make sure I can still talk to you, okay? I don’t wanna abandon you completely.”

“I’ll be okay,” she repeated. “I’m old enough to be on my own, an’ everyone here’ll watch after me.”

“Okay,” Sunny said, feeling relieved. They walked back inside together. He nodded to Free and Dust, who gave him thumbs up. They were talking to Harper. Sunny and the Girl joined the group. 

“So, what’s your plan?” Harper asked. She was directing the question at the Girl. 

“I wanna stay here,” the Girl said again. Harper nodded. Freedom explained that she was going to go out east with them. The Girl pulled her aside, and they started talking. Sunny tried not to listen in, but he did overhear them making some sort of ‘vow of silence’. It was probably some sort of little girl best friend thing like the girls at his school would do when he was little.

Dr. D soon returned with the transmission radio. Dust was still conveniently driving the car she’d taken a few weeks ago, so they were able to use that. Sunny was sad to go, of course, but not nearly as much as he was excited for the future. As they pulled away, waving to their friends and family behind them, Harper said, “I think we need a group name. Like the Fabulous Four.”

“Well, you got any ideas?” Sunny asked.

“Yep!” she said confidently. Pointing at a nearby cactus, she added, “We can be called the Cactus Quartet!”

It was cheesy, and dumb, and the best thing Sunny had ever heard. He had a group of people who loved him and wanted him around. His life wasn’t going in the direction he’d first envisioned, but he was now sure it was the right one.


End file.
